What Canada Had to Offer
by jacij1988
Summary: Jake's Breaking Dawn Experience or what I think it would be like... When Jacob is in Canada he meets Alyssa and Skip. His life officially changes forever when he finds the one person he never thought he would. Jake/OC.
1. The Thoughts of Others

How could one insignificant piece of paper completely throw my life into an unrecognizable tailspin? Did that leech really think he was doing me a favor? When I started running I didn't know when or where Bella would marry her bloodsucker and to be honest I didn't want to. All I wanted was to run; to exist in a form that didn't hurt so much. I wanted to get away.

It was early August now and the warmth of the summer had begun to blend nicely with the heat generated by my strained muscles. I had ended up in some part of Canada and had no intention of returning anytime soon. The pack had been trying to get me to go home everyday since I left. My pack brothers just wanted me to go home, heck even Leah's thoughts were remorseful for the things she said on the cliff the day I left. I was refusing though. I was strictly following instincts when any other pack member was in wolf form. The guys just made me think of Bella and that hurt too bad.

Seth hurt worse than the others. He was friends with him. How he could befriend any vampire was baffling enough but that leech was over the top. It annoyed me to no end that he was friends with Edward. I hated that Bella kept asking about me. I didn't want to think about her and knowing that she was still worrying about me was killing me on the inside. Some part of Bella Swan still loved me but it would never be enough. Not for her, not for me, not for us. There would never be an "us" again.

The pack had been overly careful with their thoughts for the last week. It finally slipped one night though. Leah was on patrol by herself and she was pissed, not that Leah's sour disposition was uncommon. She was consumed with her normal tyrannical thoughts. This time all venom was aimed toward Seth. I don't think she even realized what she was thinking about until it was too late but once it was out there was no going back. Seth had been invited to Bella's wedding. He had accepted the invitation and the next day at twilight he and Sue were going to sit there and watch the love of my life marry the love of hers. The agonizing howls burst out of me like they never had before when I pieced together Leah's frazzled thoughts. The time had come. There was no going back. No changing her mind now. In less than twenty-four hours Bella would be a married vampire-to-be. Leah immediately realized what she had done and a steady stream of apologies ran through her head. I couldn't do anything but lie down and let the depression take me.

Eventually, after the boarders of La Push were secured, Leah phased back and I was left alone with my misery. My whimpering slowed as I slipped into the deepest sleep that I had experienced since my departure from La Push.

I was standing there dressed in a black tuxedo, every around me was dressed up as well and a beautiful faceless girl was walking toward me wearing a white dress. The slow movement of the mystery screamed of apprehension. Then I saw where I was. I stood next to the leech, a groomsman in _his_ wedding. The expression on his face was nothing if not smug. The entire pack, as well as most of La Push was in attendance. These were the people I had grown up and lived with my entire life and they were at Edwards wedding. Edward was the only vampire present. I was bothered that the usually overwhelming sickly sweet stench of bloodsucker hadn't assaulted senses.

As the bride got closer a face began to form. It wasn't anyone I had ever seen before. Even though I didn't know the girl I still loved her. Odd but true. How cruel could this world be that even fictional girls from my imagination turned out to be leach-lovers?

As the girl and Edward stood in front of the minister his face said everything. He couldn't get any happier than he was at that moment. Edward said his vows, his eyes never leaving her shockingly beautiful face. I couldn't seem to keep my eyes off of the woman either. All I wanted to do was scream out that I loved this woman. She was short with shoulder length light brown hair which had subtle blonde highlights running through it. She had the brightest blue eyes I had ever seen and her pale skin looked delicate, fragile almost. As Edward finished his vows I looked down to see that my arms had unconsciously wrapped themselves around my torso, a habit that Bella often exhibited during her extended separation from her favorite bloodsucker. I suddenly understood her feelings. She was holding the shattered pieces of herself together. As the minister started her vows the bride simply and silently turned and sauntered down the aisle as if she were walking through the park. I turned back to witness Edward's reaction. All I could see was him, lying on the ground silently, and tearlessly, weeping. It was my turn to sport a smug expression.

When I woke up I was greeted by the bright afternoon sun which could only mean one thing. Bella would only be a Swan for a few more hours. Then she would be a Cullen and I would have lost her forever. No one else was in wolf form which I was thankful for. It left me open to think. No matter how instinctual I tried to be when other members of the pack phased, when it was just me I couldn't help but to let my mind wander, back to the best days, the days with Bella and me hanging out in the garage, days where there was nothing better than riding our motorcycle through La Push back roads. I would think back to the days when I was Bella's sun and a future seemed real.

Sometime during the night Sam, Quil, and Seth phased for patrol. I'm sure he wasn't meaning to do it but the wedding was clearly on Seth's mind. I couldn't handle it. Even though she looked happy, seeing her in that dress walking straight for her leech was unbearable. Any form would have been better than having to share Seth's thoughts on the wedding. I phased for the first time since leaving home. I spent the rest of the night leaning against a fallen tree, my arms wrapped around my knees. I didn't want to phase back. I couldn't handle Seth's thoughts about how happy Bella and Edward looked or Sam's thoughts filled with sympathy and pity. Even Quil's seemingly neutral thoughts of how adorable Claire was as she played on the merry-go-round that day were driving me insane.

I didn't want to avoid my brothers for forever but I sure wasn't going to be able to deal with them full time yet. Going home would be too hard still I just wanted to be able to stop the hurt that seemed to be so much apart of me now, before I went home. I was going to have to find myself first. Find what I wanted to do, who I wanted to be. A post Bella life, what was I going to make of it. I was only positive about one thing; before I was going to be able to get anything else done I was going to have to find pants.


	2. A Place Unlike Home

With a few more hours of night left and I knew I couldn't waist them. As I lifted myself from my position against a fallen log I thought of how I wanted to travel. If I phased I would have to share my thoughts with the guys but I would be able to move a lot faster if I did. Staying in human form would leave me slow and naked but I'd also have the privacy of my mind secured. I was pretty sure stumbling through the woods naked would have been far better than having to hear about that damn wedding. So I was off on foot. Human feet.

On my mission for pants I headed east; after running for about an hour I came across Northern Ridge Campgrounds. Jackpot. I walked around the edge of the campsites—making sure I was out of sight—until I saw exactly what I was looking for. I spotted the bright blue swim trunks draped across the bench of a picnic table. I stopped dead in my tracks; I waited until I could clearly hear the low rumble of snoring from the tent. When I was sufficiently sure that I wouldn't get caught I sprinted toward the bench. No sooner did I reach the shorts than I was wearing them. I felt bad about stealing; I knew it was wrong but I couldn't exactly walk around naked forever. That wouldn't help me to blend in at all. Once the shorts were on I was running again.

When the sun rose I was running down a deserted road. If anyone saw me they would either: stop to give me a ride, think I was crazy, or assume I was a typical morning jogger. After jogging for what felt like ten miles or so a few cars started to stream past me. After about fifteen cars had passed by a large man in a flat bed truck pulled onto the shoulder in front of me. As I passed by the truck the man spoke to me from the open window.

"Hey, there son, where ya heading this morning?" judging by his southern accent and P.O.W. sticker displayed on the back window I assumed he was an American. I wasn't quite expecting that being this far north in Canada but it was a welcome surprise.

"Umm. . . Actually I'm heading for the nearest town. A phone I guess." My voice was startlingly hoarse from not being used for so long.

"Well, I'll tell ya what. . . I'm headed into Dawson City and I can give you a lift if you'd like. I'll even let ya use my cell on the way."

"Well thanks, my names Jake. This is really nice of you." I was shocked. I wasn't seriously expecting anyone to stop and pick up the giant shirtless man child. I wasn't expecting it but was thankful none-the-less.

"Names James but people call me Skip. Where ya from there Jake?"

Hmmm, what was I going to tell him? If he'd been through Washington in the past month and a half chances are he would have seen Charlie's stupid signs. If he didn't actually know who I was I'm sure he would assume I was in my twenties. Not letting him know that I was a sixteen year old "runaway" was vital.

"Until recently I lived in Washington."

"Awww so your from the states too. Good to see a good ol' American boy. I've been up here for two months now. One more month and I head back down . . . can't wait."

"That sounds pretty good." I wasn't sure what more I should say. Or how much information I should give Skip. He seemed like a nice guy but the last thing I needed was to be turned over to the police.

"Oh, I'm sure you don't want to listen to me blab. Here's the phone I promised." He pulled the sleek silver phone off the dashboard and handed it to me. I quickly dialed the familiar number and waited for someone to answer.

"Hello?"

"Hey . . . it's Jake." I waited patiently as the odd silence continued. "Well . . . just thought I would check in, ya know make sure everything was good on the home front."

"Yeah, yeah," my voice seemed to awake my dad from his thoughts. "Everything is great Jake. . . How are you doin'?"

"Well . . . good. Okay. . . I'm working on it."

"Where are ya Jake?"

"I'm actually heading into Dawson City. It's not for sure but . . . I'm thinking . . . I wanna come home. I'm not sure when but that's the goal."

"I understand son. Come home when you can. Do you want me to tell the guys?"

"Sure, sure. And Dad, can you ask Seth to do me a favor?"

"You could always ask him yourself. But if you want me to ask him then yeah, what is it?"

"Ask him to tell _her_ . . . I'm okay."

"Sure son. Come home when ya can."

With that I shut the phone and gave it back to skip.

"Thank you. That was really nice of you."

"No problem. So where ya stayin?"

By this time we were just entering Dawson City. It was very touristy: Historical buildings, tacky hotels, and family attractions everywhere. This place was _nothing_ like La Push. Perfect.

"I actually don't have any plans. I think I need to find some work first." I tried to make this sound casual but I'm not sure if it cam out that way.

"Well judging by your lack of luggage and a plan I'm guessing that this wasn't a planned journey."

"You could say that."

I thought I knew what was coming next: 'Why are you here?' 'How old are you?' All the questions that I wanted—no needed—to avoid.

"Way I see it only two things can make a man run without a plan. Either you're runnin' from the law or runnin' from a woman."

I winced at the thought that my heartbreak was so obvious. "I assure you sir I am in no way running from any legal problems." Skip looked at me. I'm pretty sure he saw something on my face that convinced him of 1) that I'm not a runaway criminal and 2) that the _woman_ I was running from wasn't something I could talk about.

"Good . . ."

The rest of the ride was filled with comfortable silence. Within ten minutes we were pulling up to the Aurora Inn. It was a big yellow building that screamed of tourist overload. As skip stopped the truck I hopped out. I turned around to thank him but was cut off before I had the chance.

"You don't have anywhere to stay do ya Jake?"

"honestly . . . no sir I don't. I'll camp out though I really don't mind sir."

"I'll tell ya what. I hear they need some helo here and whoever gets the job sleeps in the outsource building for free. How about we see if we can get you the job?"

"hmmm. Really?" I had no idea why Skip was being so nice to me but this job seemed perfect. Having a place to stay and a job to focus on would really help me out. "That actually sounds perfect Skip. Do you think I have a shot at the job?"

A weird grin spread across the man's face. "I'd say you had a pretty good shot."

With that Skip and I walked into the large yellow inn. He sauntered up to the reception desk and the tall red headed woman standing behind it.

"Hey there Judy. This is my friend Jake. I was wondering if ya still needed extra help around here."

Judy looked away from Skip and directly toward me for the first time. I suddenly realized that I was wearing a pair of bright blue swim trunks and nothing else. _Real professional there Jake_. No way was I going to get a job looking like an overgrown surfer. Nothing but skepticism shown on her face as she looked back to Skip.

"The position is still available. Are you sure about the candidate, James?" You can tell that she didn't want to even consider me but then Skip spoke.

"Absolutely, Jake here is perfect for the job. And the outsource apartment would be great for him."

"If you're sure James, of course we'll give—Jake is it—a shot."

Shock, Astonishment, Joy. I swear I thought they would call the cops on me, send me back to my dad. But no, they were both a job and a place to stay. This wasn't exactly what I was expecting.

"You would understand if I asked you to put on something more appropriate wont you?"

"Oh of course Judy. We'll get him something different. Ill go show him around and where he'll be stayin'. We'll be back by four and he can get right to work." With that he led me to the exit.

"Oh man thank you so much Skip. That was amazing. I can't believe she gave me the job. Man that was like magic. Thank you."

"Oh kiddo, the people around this place like me. Now how about we get you some work clothes, my treat. Hop in the truck."

I stopped dead in my tracks. "Oh no, you cant buy me clothes. You just got me a job and a place to stay. You don't even know me. Why are you being so nice to me?"

By this time Skip was sitting in the driver's seat of his truck motioning for me to get in. I shuffled to the passenger side and got in.

"This is just a loan Jake. We'll pick ya up some clothes and after you get your pay check you can pay me back."

"Are you sure . . .?"

"Absolutely"

As we drove to the store we remained silent. When we pulled into the parking lot Skip parked the truck and pulled a fifty dollar bill out of his pocket and handed it to me. I held the bill in my hand, just staring at it.

"This is a lot of money Skip. I can't accept this."

"You'll be able to pay me back in the next week kid. Don't think anything of it. Just pick up some clothes then I'll show you around the inn."

After a half-hour of shopping Skip and I made our way back to the inn and he showed me all round the main building and the grounds. Apparently I was going to be a general maintenance man. Mowing lawns, fixing up things when need be. Everything seemed pretty easy to me. When he was done showing me my job responsibilities he took me to the outsource building that was off the back of the main inn. There was a bed a small bathroom, and even a mini-fridge. It was seriously perfect. I spent most of the remaining afternoon in my new "apartment" then at four I met back up with Judy in the front lobby to see what she needed me to do for the day.


	3. An Angel Comes to Visit

_I own nothing. Everything belongs to the beautiful Stephenie Meyer_

Two weeks of living and working at the Aurora Inn and I was falling into a seamless routine. I would wake up around 5:30 and run for a few hours. Sometimes other members of the back would be around and I would get an update on all the La Push news. When I phased with Sam I heard all about the official business and how Emily was. When I phased with Quil I got the Embry and Claire updates. Apparently Claire was well on her way to becoming a genius; she could count to five already. I think Quil might have been a bit partial though. The only one who down right wouldn't phase with me was Seth. I think he felt bad about everything still. The pack was there sometimes but most of the time I was able to run alone. It gave me time to think, time to process how my life had changed. I still loved Bella. I don't think love like that ever disappears. She everything a guy could ask for. She's beautiful, and smart, caring, and giving. She accepted the craziest side of me without question. You can't ask for anything more than that. After my run I would go back to my apartment and take a shower then get to work.

I loved my job. I'd go talk to Judy, where she would give me a list of things to do. Then I would be left alone for the rest of the day. The job detail was pretty easy. Since the work didn't take much brain function I had even more time to think while I was working. The hardest task on my part was making sure I didn't do the work to fast, for both the sake of keeping up with the human façade and to earn every bit of my 10.50 an hour. I got along with almost everyone. Even Judy, who was extremely standoffish when I first got there, was warming up to me. Skip had taken on a weird substitute father role and was always looking out for me. He still wasn't trying to pry into my personal life or history. He hadn't even asked how old I was yet. I'm pretty sure he realized that I wasn't as old as I looked but if he knew I was a minor he never said anything to me about it. I loved the Aurora Inn and all of Dawson City for that matter. Things were really starting to work out for me.

About a week into my new life Skip dropped a giant bomb on me. We were sitting down in the restaurant that was connected to the inn for a burger and fries. I had gotten my first pay check and was paying Skip back for the money he had loaned me and was treating him to a thank you dinner.

"Thanks again for everything Skip." I handed him the fifty dollar bill.

"I told you Jake it wasn't a big deal. You're welcome but the 'thank you' isn't necessary." He looked ecstatic. The look on his face couldn't be just about some kid repaying a loan. Something was going on.

"Okay Skip, What's up? You're about to burst at the seams over there."

"Oh, sorry about that. I just got an amazing phone call this morning and now I'm in a good mood. My daughter, Alyssa, is flying up here on the second of September and then we're driving back down so she can move into her dorm at college. But before she goes we get four solid days here before that." The guy looked like he was going to jump up and down with joy. It was kind of nice to see someone so happy to see family. It made me miss Billy. I'd have to call him again and start to seriously think about making my way home soon.

"That's great Skip. So where's Alyssa now?"

"Oh, well, she lives with her grandmother in Oregon. I travel so much that it made more sense for her to live somewhere stable. . . But now she's grown and on her way to pay her ol' man a visit."

"Pretty exciting. So what do ya have to do to get ready for the happy visit?"

"Oh nothing, she'll stay in her usual room and since guests don't go in there, all that needs to be done is to get fresh sheets on the bed."

"Wait. . . Usual room? She's been here before? Why don't guests stay in that room?"

Skip started laughing harder than I had seen him laugh before. He was looking around at the full tables surrounding us like every one of them held a million memories. "Of course she has. Just about every summer since she was born."

"I don't understand. Is this like your favorite vacation spot because I have to admit I can think of about a million more exciting places to go than Dawson City, there Skip."

"Hmmm. I didn't really take you for a dumby kid.

"Excuse me?" Now I wasn't only confused but I was slightly insulted too.

"Haven't you noticed Jake? It didn't take much persuading to get you this job did it? And I know everyone who works here don't I? Didn't you think it was odd that people would treat me different than they do all of the other guests? None of that seemed off to you, Jake?"

To be honest I hadn't even thought about it. Skip had been staying at the Aurora Inn two months before I had even gotten there and I bonded with him within the first day of my arrival. So I just assumed that he was one of those people who got along with everyone. Now that I actually think about it he was treated very different from the other people staying there.

"Guess I never really thought about it much." This sent him into another fit of laughter. "Okay enough, what's with the comedy act there Skip?"

After his laughter subsided enough for him to speak he answered me. "Jake, I own this place. I thought you knew."

"Wait a sec. You own the inn? The Aurora Inn?"

"Yeah. . . It was my wife's. She loved this place and when she passed away I didn't have the heart to sell it. Everything about this place reminds me of her. Alyssa grew up here."

"Well who knew. . . I guess everyone but me did, but still. Why didn't you tell me?" I knew it was a lame answer but his explanation of why he didn't sell the inn after his wife died had reminded me of the one reason why going home wasn't an option yet. Everything in La Push reminded me of her. Places we road our bikes, and walks on the beach, hell even my own house gave me constant reminders of homework sessions in my living room. No, home was going to be too painful still.

"For starters I don't like being _the boss_. Plus, I thought you knew. So how 'bouts we say the meals on me. . ." He leaned over and whispered "the owner gets to eat for free."

"Well, in that case, thanks for dinner Skip."

The first of September had rolled around and Skip had been getting more and more antsy as we got closer to the second. It was the day before Alyssa was supposed to show up. Skip, and most of the staff for that matter, were elated that she was coming to visit. From the way everyone around there was talking you would think that an angel from heaven was coming to visit.

On the morning of September second Skip was up at the crack of dawn. After my morning run and a quick shower I went into the lobby of the inn. Skip was sitting on the couch _attempting_ to read the morning paper. I could tell he wasn't getting much accomplished so I dragged him into the restaurant and made him eat some breakfast.

"Calm down, Skip, I know you're excited but her flight doesn't even come in until noon. But you being at the airport three and a half hours early is just goin' to drive you nuts. Now eat some breakfast."

"Sorry 'bout that, Jake. I guess I'm just about as excited as a kid on Christmas morning."

"I know but getting all worked up and running to the airport early isn't going to make Alyssa's plane get there any faster."

After his _rushed_ meal I knew he wouldn't be able to just sit in the lobby any longer so I said goodbye and he ran out to his truck. Just the thought of the 5'11", heavy set, and white haired, flannel wearing Skip sitting in an airport terminal fidgeting like a little girl was enough to put an amused swing in my step and a grin on my face.

Around 1:30 I was getting ready to start cleaning out the gutters on the outsource building. I was just about to climb onto the barely necessary ladder when Judy came barreling through the back doors of the inn straight for me.

"Jake, Jake Hurry up their here." Something had to be seriously wrong for the usually soft spoken Judy to be running outside to yell at me.

"Wait, wait, slow down Judy. What's wrong? Is everyone okay?" I had closed the space between us now and she was pulling be back toward the main building.

"Yes, of course everything is fine. James and Alyssa are back. I just saw them parking the truck. Hurry up."

When we got into the lobby the entire staff was there. I found a spot in the back of the crowd both because I was taller than everyone else and it felt weird to be standing in the lobby excitedly awaiting the arrival of someone I had never met. We all stood there waiting for the grand entrance. A minute later Skip busted into the room.

"Ladies and Gentlemen I present to you Alyssa West."

Thank God I was in the back of the crowd leaning against the wall because with an ostentatious swing of Skip's hand Alyssa made her entrance. As soon as she stepped into the room everything else fell away. Without the wall there to support me I'm pretty sure I would have fallen. Everyone was running to her, capturing her in hug after hug with statements like 'I missed you' and 'you've grown again haven't you' filling the air I could only focus on her. She was perfect. She made every other person I had ever seen look like a troll. Quite honestly Alyssa West was literally the girl from my dreams. It took me a second to realize that she shared an uncanny resemblance to the girl in the dream I had had about the leech being left at the alter. She was now my life, my love, my imprint.

--

_So, reviews would be appreciated. I'm not sure if you guys are enjoying the story or hating it. Feedback would be greatly appreciated, since this is my first Fanfic I want to know what people think I could do to improve as well._


	4. Meeting My Angel

_I own nothing. All credit goes to the lovely Stephenie Meyer_

I was thoroughly grateful for everyone in the room at that moment. They gave me enough time to pull myself together while they were welcoming Alyssa. By the time Skip was given the chance to introduce the two of us I had regained enough composure so that speaking was possible. As he pulled the beautiful angel in my direction my eyes were locked on her glorious face.

"Alyssa this is Jake. Jake this is my daughter, Alyssa."

"It's very nice to meet you Jake. My father had some lovely things to say about you." As she was speaking to me the only things running through my head were _perfect, perfect, perfect, Alyssa, Alyssa, Alyssa._ She then extended her arm toward me for a handshake. This beautiful creature wanted to make contact with me. When her hand met mine it felt perfect. It was like I had been missing a vital organ my entire life and it had found its way back to me. Nothing else could describe my reaction other than overjoyed.

"It's really great to meet you too Alyssa. Your dad here has told me so much about you." It was true, her dad had spoke of Alyssa often but it wasn't nearly enough. I wanted to—no I _needed _to—know everything about her. I wanted to know what made her happy so I can see her smile. I needed to know her fears so I can prevent them from ever causing her pain. I needed to know what her dreams were so I could make them come true. I needed to know anything and everything about this beautiful woman.

Alyssa turned away from my intense stare back to her father. "Dad, I think I'm going to go up to my room. I need to call Nana and tell her I made it alright. I'll be down in a little while. Is that alright?"

"Of course it is sweetheart. I'll see ya in a little bit."

With that Alyssa was walking away from me, toward the staircase that would lead her to her room. Before I realized what I was doing I had jumped to attention. All I really knew was that I couldn't let her leave my sight, not yet at least. There was only one logical option I had if I wanted to stay with her—even if it was only one extra minute. I grabbed her bags before she had the chance to reach for them.

"Jake that really isn't necessary. Really I can carry my own bags."

"Nonsense, it's no trouble just lead the way and I'll take the bags."

"If you're sure. . ." I nodded and she shrugged her shoulders then headed toward the stairs.

Once we were at the top of the stairs we were completely alone. Everyone else was either still in the lobby or they had gone back to work.

"So I heard your moving into a dorm soon. Are you excited?"

"Yeah. . . I think I might be more nervous than excited though. I've never lived away from my family."

"Yeah I know what ya mean. This is my first time away from home too. So what school are you going to?"

"Oh I got into the University of Washington."

"Oh really, I'm from Washington. Actually my hometown is only a few hours away from Seattle."

We came to a stop outside a room at the end of the hall.

"Well this is it. Thanks for the help Jake. I owe ya one. You'll have to tell me all about Washington sometime."

"It was no problem, and anytime."

She unlocked the door and took the bags from me. She smiled at me as she closed the door behind her, leaving me in the hall and taking my heart with her.

As soon as the door was closed a slow ache spread through my chest. This wasn't like the hurt that I experienced when Bella left. When she was gone my heart was broken. When Alyssa was away from me it was like my heart was missing all together.

I had no idea what I should do. I had to be near this girl. She had consumed every thought and taken up residency in every cell of my being. She had had this huge effect on me but she didn't know anything about me. What if she didn't like me? What if she thought I was some big mysterious freak? I couldn't handle that. I had to tell her everything. I needed her to understand who I was. How was I going to tell her about the legends, about Taha Aki and the cold ones? Making this sane, rational, intelligent woman believe in silly superstitions of vampires and werewolves was going to be the hardest thing I've ever done. I could feel it.

I needed to talk to Sam to tell him what had happened and ask what I should do. I knew that I didn't want to phase and hope that Sam would be around and that nobody else was. Hearing everyone else's thoughts on my imprinting was not something that I needed right now. I ran down stairs and caught up with Skip. He was on his way to his room and I barely caught him.

"Skip, Skip, can I borrow your phone. It's really important."

"Sure kid, here ya go. I'm going to sleep for awhile so just leave it with Judy, okay?"

"No problem, thanks."

I ran back to my apartment, locked the door, and sat on the edge of my bed, staring at the small silver phone. I had to call, I wanted to call. This was good news and I should share it with the pack but guilt was starting to slowly work its way into my head. I had told Bella not to get her hopes up. I had said that she was the only one I saw. That was a lie now. I had seen Alyssa a thousand times clearer than I had ever seen anyone else. I know Bella made her choice and she wasn't coming back to me but I had told her that she was the only one for me, and that wasn't true anymore. As soon as I made this phone call Sam would know I imprinted, and then the whole pack would know. It wasn't going to take long until it got back to Bella. I knew I had to get it over with, they would find out sooner or later. I dialed Sam's number and waited for the familiar happy voice I knew that I would hear.

"Hello?"

"Hi Emily. It's Jake."

"_Jake_! Oh it's so good to hear your voice. How are you? Is everything okay?"

"I'm fine Emily. How are you?"

"Good, the usual, feeding the guys, cleaning up after the guys."

"Figures. . . Well is Sam around? There's something I need to talk to him about."

"Yeah he just got home actually. I'll get him."

She set the phone down and I heard her walking into the living room

_"Sam sweetie, the phones for you. You'll never guess who it is."_

_"I swear if that's Embry again I'm going to kill him."_

_"It's not Embry sweetie. . . It's Jake he. . ."_

Before she could finish I heard Sam picking up the phone.

"Jake, what's wrong?"

"Nothings wrong Sam. I just need some advice."

The nervousness was clear in his voice now. "Okay, what is it?"

"I sort of . . . Well I did. . . I mean. . . Sam I. . ."

"What is it Jake? You're killin' me here."

"I imprinted."

"What? I. . . I. . . I don't. . ."

"Her name's Alyssa. She's perfect. She's Skip's daughter. They're staying here for four days before she moves for school… I can't lose her Sam . . . She's everything."

I had started to get slightly hysterical. Just the thought of losing her made me physically sick to my stomach.

"Calm down Jake. First things first you have to tell her about us. Everything. It's the only way to be fair to her."

"But Sam . . . Emily and Kim already knew the stories and Claire. . . She'll grow up knowing them too. Alyssa knows nothing about the legends. How the hell am I going to bring that up?"

"I'm not sure Jake but I do know you have to do it. It's the only way."

"I know. I'll figure it out, I guess. Thanks Sam. Will you tell my dad . . . that I'll be okay now?"

"Sure, sure" his tone was slightly sarcastic. "Keep me posted Jake."

"Alright, Bye."

"Bye."

As soon as I hung up I started planning. I needed to be subtle yet to the point. '_Hey Alyssa, I know we've only known each other for an hour but I'm in love with you. You're my soul mate and oh by the way I'm a werewolf._' Oh man, I was screwed. After a few hours of thinking and cleaning the gutters on the outsource building I had a general plan. The execution is what I was sketchy about.

I had to make her trust me. That night I would see if I could eat with her and Skip or even if I could catch her in the lobby and talk to her. We would get to know each other better. Four days was a really short amount of time but I would have to work with what I was given. Make Alyssa fall for me enough so that I could tell her the truth about me. I didn't know how well that was going to work.

Around 6:30 I made my way into the restaurant for dinner. The place was packed. Every table in the place was full. I was about to leave so I could go to the café down the street when I heard someone calling my name.

"Jake, over here." Skip had stood up and was waving me over to the table he was sharing with Alyssa. Perfect. I thought eating dinner with them was the long shot option but apparently not. As I got to the table I saw that Alyssa was smiling. Was she happy because I was there? I can only hope I guess.

"Take a seat Jake you can eat with Dad and me."

"Sure, I'd love to."

We sat in the dining room eating our dinner; conversation flowed like we had all known each other forever. By the time conversation slowed and I had a chance to look around the entire room had become almost entirely empty and more than two hours had passed. We decided to get desert and as we ate it another hour passed. Skip had been yawning for the past half hour and decided it was time for him to go to bed.

"Alright kids . . . I'm going to be." He leaned over and kissed Alyssa on the forehead. "Love you sweetheart." He was about to walk away when Alyssa spoke up.

"Wait Dad, I forgot my toothbrush at Nana's house. Can I borrow your truck so I can go get a new one?"

"Want me to go with ya? It's kinda late."

"No Dad it's okay. You're tired I can go."

I wasn't about to waste an opportunity like this. "Well, if you want. . . I can go with you. That way Skip, you can go to bed and Alyssa won't have to go alone. Sound good?"

"Sure that sounds great. Dad . . . keys?"

"Oh here. You take care of my little girl Jake."

"Oh I will. No need to worry."

"Thanks, 'night Daddy." She hugged Skip and whispered in his ear. I was sure I wasn't supposed to hear it "thanks daddy, you're right . . . he's really nice." then she looked at me. "I have to run up and get a jacket. I'll be down in a minute. Okay?"

"Sure. I'll wait right here for you."

This was perfect. I was getting time alone with my angel and it seemed that she wanted to hang out with me too. Could things possibly work out for me this time? I could only hope I guess.

_Reviews are greatly appreciated._


	5. Thank God for the Toothbrush

After Alyssa came back down stairs after grabbing a jacket we were on our way to the store. The twenty-four hour drugstore was no more than fifteen minutes away and Alyssa and I were able to keep conversation flowing easily. After we made it into the store and she had picked up a toothbrush, as well as toothpaste, hair ties, and a pack of gum, we were on our way back to the inn.

"You know I'm pretty sure Judy has a few toothbrushes in the back for guests who need them."

"I know . . . but I like this one much better and this little trip got me out of the inn for a little bit."

"You don't like the inn?" I was thoroughly confused now. She had looked so happy before we left. I thought the inn was like a second home to her.

"No I like it, its home. It's just . . . Everyone there still looks at me like I'm ten years old. I'm an adult and they just can't see that."

"It can't be that bad. It's obvious that you're not a kid."

"You may see that but nobody else around her does. You can't possibly be that much older than I am and you haven't been here since I was a little kid like everyone else. Without you around all I would here this week is 'Do you remember when . . .' and 'Aww you were so cute when you . . .' and you can't leave off the famous 'You've grown up so fast.' 'I can't believe our little button nose is going away to college.' and 'It seems like just yesterday that . . .' I can't handle it. Thank God you're here Jake."

No feeling I had ever experienced could compare to how it made me feel when she spoke those words. She wanted me there; she was glad that I was in her life at that moment. That's all I could, or would, ever want. "Well I'm glad I came here then. Consider me your personal _Anti-Nostalgia –Agent_. I'm available twenty-four seven." Her laughter filled the cab of the truck and nothing ever sounded so beautiful. Talking through her laugher she said.

"Why thank you Jacob. You might just regret those words. You could get pretty tired of me by the time I leave. You don't mind if I call you Jacob do you?

"Absolutely not, call me whatever you want." She could call me 'hey you' or 'that one guy' and it would be the best name I would ever been called as long as it came from her. There was a silence as she returned the truck to its parking spot. "And Alyssa . . . I could never get tired of you."

She was still blushing when we got out of the truck. We were headed back into the lobby of the inn. I assumed she would be tired, her going up to her room and me going out to the outsource apartment. We were in the lobby and I was just about to say goodnight when Alyssa stopped me.

"Jake?"

"Yeah"

"It's not even eleven yet and I'm not really tired. Do you want to play cards or something?"

"I suck at cards but we can talk, or walk, or something." I sounded like an idiot but she just smiled and said

"Sounds good to me"

We sat in the lobby for hours talking and laughing more than I had in months. The laughter that filled the room wasn't the superficial type of amusement that I had gotten used to, this laughter was real. We talked about everything her school, my school—or at least "the high school I used to go to". I learned all about her family and I told her about mine, mostly I described Billy. I told her about the pack, well I told her about my friends. I just left off the part about them exploding into giant woodland creatures. She told me about her friends and what she did for fun. Around 1:30 Alyssa looked like she was about to fall asleep right there in the lobby.

"Alyssa, you're dead on your feet. Maybe you should get some shut eye."

"Naw, I'm fi . . ." Her words were interrupted but a yawn. I couldn't help but laugh at her horrible lying skills.

"Oh really, I don't think so. Do you need help getting up stairs?"

"Why . . . Yes Jake. Carry me." When I reached down to pick her up, Alyssa's eyes got huge and before I had the chance to touch her she stopped me. "I was kidding Jake!"

"Oh, sorry" I hadn't even considered it. She told me to do something and before I was even thinking about it I was doing it. I hoped that she wasn't freaked out by my reaction to her joke.

"That was sweet but I have legs." She started to stand up. Mumbling to herself, I heard her say "plus I wouldn't want you to hurt yourself"

"What do you mean by that?" I was really curious at the moment and didn't think about the fact that I shouldn't have been able to hear her.

"What?" My question had caught her by surprise.

"What did you mean by what you just said . . . about me hurting myself?"

"You have good ears. It was nothing."

I let the subject drop despite my overwhelming curiosity. Alyssa had successfully removed herself from her comfortable seat on the couch and was starting to walk toward the stairs.

"G'night Alyssa. I'll see ya tomorrow."

"Yeah . . . 'night Jacob." She turned around and was starting to walk away. I couldn't help it. The words were flying out of my mouth without my permission.

"Hey . . . Do you think you might want to go out with me tomorrow night? Well I guess it would be tonight, but still. That is if you and your dad don't already have something planned." I was silently praying that they didn't have anything planned. My unruly mouth had spoken the words that I knew deep down should be said. Now I just had to wait to see if it was all in vain. An actual date with an angel would be amazing. She had a sheepish grin on her face when she answered.

"You mean . . . like a date?"

"Yeah . . . if that's alright with you."

"That sounds perfect to me." She ran over to me and gave me a quick hug. "See ya tomorrow Jake."

With that she was on her way to her room. I was left, momentarily stunned, standing in the lobby of the Aurora Inn staring at an empty staircase. After my brain function returned I was running full speed toward the protective cover of the trees. I knew sleep wouldn't be possible even if I were to try so I was going to go for a run.

As soon as I could I phased. There's something about running through the forest as a wolf that made everything that had happened that day seem even more magical. It seemed right. I was so wrapped up in my thoughts that it took me a minute to realize that I wasn't alone. Quil and Embry were on patrol.

_You imprinted! Oh my God. Isn't it the greatest?_

_Ooooo Jake's gotta girlfriend._ Embry's singsong thoughts were enough to make me want to slap him. Quil's more relevant thoughts brought me back to what was happening.

_She seems really nice Jake. And don't worry I'll slap Embry for ya._

_Hey!?_

_You're right. She is really nice . . . _ The more I thought about Alyssa the more anxious Embry's thought became.

_You imprinted on your boss's kid?_

_Yeah, So?_ I was confused, what the big deal was? It wasn't like Skip hated me or anything.

_Well, you just can't do anything simply. Can you?_ Before I could process that Quil was defending me.

_Shut it Embry. It's not like he chose for it to be Skip's daughter. That could make it easier for him. Ya know. Her dad already likes him._

They continued to bicker for awhile before I interjected.

_Knock it off guys. I think I'm going to bed. I have a big day ahead of me._

_Yeah you need all the beauty sleep you can get . . . I'm just playing with ya. Good luck man._ Sometimes the way Embry could go from acting like four year old to a mature human being in a matter of seconds was mind blowing to me.

_Congratulations Jake. She's really pretty. You deserve to be happy._ Quil thought.

_Yeah she is beautiful isn't she? 'Night guys. _I'm not sure how I was able to wish them a goodnight because by the time I phased back all of my thoughts were consumed with Alyssa. I got dressed and headed home. Once I was back in my apartment I lay down on my bed and thought about the amazing day I had just had. I met the girl of my dreams and it looked like she might actually like me a little too. After laying there for what seemed like forever I finally drifted off to sleep. Dreams of Alyssa and me finding a life filled with happiness and love with each other filled the night.


	6. A First Date to Remember

I don't claim any ownership of characters

_I don't claim any ownership of characters. Stephenie Meyer is the genius behind Twilight. No copyright infringement intended. _

I didn't crawl out of bed until 8:30 the next morning. I skipped my morning run; one because I had ran the night before and two because my dreams were too pleasant to pull myself away from them. After I was showered and ready for the day I headed into the inn. As soon as I saw Judy I knew today was going to be interesting. Her face was 90 smile and she looked like she was about to burst into a song at any moment.

"Well, good morning there Jake. How are you today?"

"I'm good. How are you, Judy? You seem happy this morning."

"Oh I am. You know what Jake? Your work load is pretty light today. So if you need to take off early to – I don't know – pick up some flowers. It would be perfectly alright."

It finally clicked. Judy had found out about my date with Alyssa tonight. At least she was happy about it. I just hoped that Skip would have the same feeling about it.

"Flowers, huh? Yeah I think I might just do that. Thanks for the idea, Judy. I think I'm going to get something to eat. . . I'm starving." As I walked away from the reception desk I could have sworn I heard the reserved Judy let out an uncharacteristic giggle.

The dining room was pretty empty when I got there so I took a seat at the counter. I ordered my food and as I waited for it I read some of the paper. About halfway through the front page saw someone sitting down next to me and then I felt a hand falling onto my right shoulder. I looked up from my paper to see Skip.

"Mornin' Jake"

"Good morning Skip. How are you today?"

"I'm good. I actually just woke up and came down here. I have to start the day with some coffee. I can't function before my first cup."

From the way the conversation was going I had a feeling Skip didn't know about the date tonight. Should I tell him? Will he be okay with it? How do I bring it up? Luckily he chose a line of conversation that would help me tell him.

"So did you and Alyssa get everything she needed from the store last night?"

"Yeah, she filled all her tooth brushing needs."

He gave me a funny look but dropped the subject. I was _nervous_. I had spoken to this man hundreds of times in the past month but now I was terrified of him. I had to tell him about the date before I had a panic attack or something.

"Actually when we got back from the store we talked for awhile."

"That's good. I'm glad you're finding people your own age to socialize with. You need to find some friends other than the old fogies around here."

"Funny you should say that . . . because I sort of asked Alyssa if she wanted to go out tonight . . . and she said yes."

"Really? Well I'm sure you kids will have fun. What are you kids planning to do?"

"Hmmm, well I hadn't really planned anything yet. You're alright with Alyssa and me going on a date though?"

"Oh, sure I'm fine with it. You're a good kid Jake . . . But if you hurt my little princess I swear Jake you will be fired _so fast_."

"Of course sir . . . I understand completely."

It was just about this time in our awkward conversation that I heard Alyssa from the other end of the restaurant. I was still somewhat stunned by Skip's reaction. He was usually so carefree. I guess it just showed how much he loved his daughter.

"Morning Daddy. Morning Jacob." She walked up to Skip's right side and kissed her dad on the cheek.

"So what have you been up to this morning, sweetheart?"

"Nothing much, I talked to Judy for awhile then I did a little shopping. . . I had to do something while your lazy butt was sleeping." Alyssa teased.

"Hey, hey now, you be nice I'm an old man."

We sat in the dining room for half an hour while I ate and Alyssa and Skip drank their morning coffee. Light banter filled the meal until about ten o'clock when Skip decided it was time for him to go get ready for the day. When he left he gave me a meaningful look and I nodded my head in understanding. Once he was gone it was only Alyssa and I in the large room. I was immediately saddened when I realized that she was uncomfortable. Had she decided that she didn't want to go out with me now? I had to break the odd silence.

"So, what did you want to do tonight, dinner, movies bowling?"

Seeming somewhat surprised her beautiful blue eyes lit up. "Oh whatever you want to do is okay with me."

"No, no, no . . . It's your choice. Whatever you want to do, we'll do."

Her sheepish smile from the night before was back in full force. "Well . . . the car show is in town and I missed it last year. Maybe we could go to that?"

Was she _serious_? There couldn't be a more perfect date than going to a car show with the most beautiful girl in the world. "Yeah, a car show sounds perfect. Do you want to grab something to eat before?"

"If you want to. The car show opens at 7:30."

"Okay, how 'bout I meet you in the lobby around 6:30 then?"

"Sounds great. Well, I'm going to go see what my dad wants to do today. I'll see ya later Jacob."

"Bye Alyssa"

The rest of the day passed with amazing slowness. Judy wasn't kidding about the light work load either. I had finished all my work by a quarter after twelve and had nothing else to do but wait until 6:30. It wasn't until about one that I realized there were a couple of major problems in with tonight. I didn't have a car and the only clothes I had here were for working. The car was my first priority. I considered calling a taxi, but that didn't seem very romantic. I would rent a car but I'm not even eighteen yet and doubted they would give me an expensive car. I was left with the option of borrowing a car from one of the few people I knew here. There was Skip but I didn't really want to go crawling to my date's _dad_ to borrow his truck. Judy, she had seemed so excited about the date earlier that morning. Maybe she would help me out.

When I asked Judy about the car she was surprisingly open to the idea. She decided that she would let me borrow the car but felt the need to inform me that

"Alyssa is loved by everyone in this place. For _her_ I'll let you borrow my car. But Jake . . . if you hurt our little girl you will have the entire staff very angry with you. You understand?"

Of course I had agreed and told her not to worry, that Alyssa was in good hands. I loved that everyone around the Aurora Inn loved Alyssa. It was kind of like getting to meet her family in a way.

Judy got off work at four which was perfect. I drove her home and still had enough time to stop by the store. I picked up a few new outfits, some nice jeans and a few button up shirts. I figured that I didn't want to look like I had just gotten off work. I also got a small arrangement of flowers. The small bouquet reminded me of the flowers I remembered the Alyssa-look-alike of my dream carrying. After shopping all I had left to do was go back to my apartment, shower, get ready, and nervously wait.

When 6:20 finally rolled around I had worked myself into a nervous wreck. I had been pacing the small space of my one room apartment for the past half hour and was more than ready to see Alyssa again. On my way out of the apartment I grabbed a jacket I knew I wouldn't need and the flowers I had bought for Alyssa. I took one last deep breath right before I walked into the lobby. Alyssa was already there waiting for me.

"Hey, Alyssa." I couldn't stop myself from staring. She looked amazing with a simple pair of jeans and a blue sweater that matched her eyes perfectly. "You look incredible." She looked to her shoes and started to blush furiously.

"Stop that . . . you look really nice too Jacob."

"These are for you." I handed her the flowers. She smiled then looked at them with a puzzled expression.

"Hmmm oh" Then she walked over to the reception desk where Maurice, the evening manager, was standing. "Will you please put these in a vase and put them in my room for me? I would really appreciate it."

She turned back and started to walk toward me. She smiled and grabbed the purse she had left on the chair and looked at me. "Ready?"

"I was born ready."

I lead her out to the parking lot where I had parked Judy's car. She was obviously surprised that I had borrowed the car. Her smile at my initiative was more than a just prize.

We got to the simple pizza restaurant I had chosen earlier in the day. I looked over to see if my choice was okay with her and saw her folded over laughing hysterically.

"What's so funny?" I couldn't help but let a laugh slip from my own mouth. Her joy was infectious.

"This place . . ." another fit of laughter took over. "My dad used to always bring me here. It's his favorite. I haven't been here in years."

"Well, how about we change that?" I got out of the car and jogged around to open her door for her. As we walked toward the restaurant I put my hand on the small of her back and just marveled at how incredibly _right_ it felt.

Conversation while we were eating was as comfortable and easy as it had been the night before. I was glad all awkwardness from that morning was gone. We eventually made it to one of topics I was hoping to avoid.

" . . . Well Jake, I find it pretty hard to believe you don't have a girlfriend waiting for you back in Washington."

"What do you mean?" Hoping playing dumb would make her drop her line of questioning.

"Well . . . It just seems like you'd have a girlfriend back home. You seem like a catch to me."

I was torn between total delight in knowing she thought I was _'a catch'_ and being completely mortified. I knew I was going to have to explain my situation with Bella sooner or later but I was hoping it wouldn't be on our first date. I had to explain it now as well as I could, without the appearance of mythical creatures at least.

"Nope, I'm completely single . . . There was a girl. Her name was Bella. We were best friends and I fell for her pretty hard. She loved me too but it wasn't enough. She ended up going back to her old boyfriend who had left her before. Then they got married, about a month ago actually. Now I'm here. Single as can be with the prettiest girl in all the Yukon Territory.

She reached her hands across the table and set them softly on top of mine, giving me the option to pull away if I wanted to. "Oh, Jake I'm so sorry. We don't have to talk about this really."

"No . . . I'm not sorry." I didn't quite realize that I felt this way until I went to explain it to her. "Bella was a learning experience. If she hadn't gone back to Edward I wouldn't be here. I wouldn't have met you. There nowhere on this planet that I would rather be than right here with you."

"You are seriously too nice sometimes Jacob Black . . . So the big mystery is revealed. Interesting."

"Big mystery?"

"Didn't you know? You're the talk of the inn. Everyone wants to know the story about how Jake Black ended up here."

"Really now . . . any interesting guesses?"

"Oh yeah. People are taking bets. Lets see, Maurice thinks you're _'discovering yourself'_ and Judy's convinced your running from the police."

"Why am I not surprised by that? . . . What's your dad's guess?"

"Well he's not betting."

"Yeah, but he must have some theory."

She looked at the almost empty plate sitting on the table, avoiding eye contact. "Yeah he has an idea . . . He thinks you're a runaway. Not that you're in trouble or anything . . . Just that you needed time to think."

Now it was me who was looking awkwardly at the table. "Wow talk about hitting the nail on the head . . . They wedding was pretty tough for me . . ."

"Listen, we don't have to talk about this. If you want to talk I'm here but if not that's fine with me too . . . Hey Jake?"

"Yeah . . ."

"Don't we have some cars to see?"

With one simple smile she brought me back. She still wanted to have the fun evening we had planned.

"Yeah, I think we do. You done here?"

"Yup, let's go."

I paid the bill and we left. It wasn't a long drive from the restaurant to the car show and it the short amount of time it took to get there I had gotten pretty excited. We pulled up and parked. As I paid for our admission Alyssa's face fell slightly.

"What is it? What's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I just realized I forgot something at home. It's nothing really."

"Okay. Where do you want to start?"

"How about we start with the German cars? I like those." I just chuckled and headed toward the Volkswagen exhibit. After walking around for awhile I realized I told her all about my tragic dating history but I didn't know anything about hers. I knew I would probably get jealous but I had to know if she had some blood-sucker ready to swoop in and steel her away.

"So I told you about my _great_ dating history. What about you?"

"What about me?"

"Well, what about the _hunky_ boyfriends you left back in Oregon?"

She just laughed until I gave her a reassuring smile. "There aren't any. I didn't really date back home. I'm not really the kind of girl that dates a lot."

Frankly I was shocked. Why anyone wouldn't want to date Alyssa was a mystery to me.

"Well that's good. No exes for me to have to beat up." The laughter I had learned to love so much in the past two days filled the air. Before I knew what I was doing I had reached down and was holding her hand in mine. We walked around the show for hours looking at every car and every exhibit.

About twenty minutes after the sun went down I noticed Alyssa had gotten quiet. When I looked down I noticed she was shivering. I let go of her hand—which I started to miss the instant it was gone—and took off my jacket. I laid it over her shoulders.

"Jacob, no . . . You'll freeze. I shouldn't have forgotten mine at home."

"No, take it. Really I'm not cold at all. Please. I don't want you getting sick."

"Okay, if you're sure."

"I am. Here put it on all the way." As I helped her to get the jacket on I left my arm draped over her shoulder and used my hand to try and warm her arm. She looked adorable in my long jacket. On her short frame it looked more like a conservative dress. We stayed like that until we had seen the rest of the cars. Around ten we were on our way back to the inn.

When we got there and Judy's care was safely parked I opened Alyssa's door and helped her out of the car.

"Do you want to walk for awhile Jake?"

"If you're sure you'll be warm enough, I'd love to."

"You do know that as soon as we hit the lobby my dads probably going to coincidently be getting a soda or something right?"

"That's sweet. Your dad loves you a lot."

As we walked and talked for forty-five minutes I was trying to decide if I should kiss her. Of course I wanted to kiss _her_ but did she want to kiss _me_? I decided that the wrong move here could mess this up and I wasn't going to risk it. I hated that I was taking the leech's advice but she was too important to me. We had made our way onto the desk of the main building and she was looking up at the sky when I finally spoke.

"A . . . Alyssa?"

"Yeah Jake?"

"Alyssa . . . would it be alright . . . alright if I kissed you?"

A grin spread across her face and she looked down before looking me directly in the eye. "I'd love that Jacob."

I leaned down and when her soft lips met mine it was like magic. It didn't have the eagerness that the kiss I had shared with Bella had; this kiss was soft and sweet. A small fire was building within and I knew that I would never want to kiss anyone else ever again. When Alyssa pulled away she had an innocent smile on her face.

"I had a lot of fun tonight Jacob. Maybe we can do it again sometime."

"Yeah, for sure"

"Well are you ready to '_accidentally' _run into my dad?"

"Hey, if it means a second date with you . . . I'll personally deliver you to his room."

"I don't think that's going to be necessary."

With that she grabbed my hand and we walked into the in to see what was waiting for us inside.

_This is the longest chapter yet. Reviews would be greatly appreciated. _


	7. One Learning Experience After Another

_I don't own Twilight. All Twilight goodness belongs to Stephenie Meyer._

_I'm SO sorry for the lack of updates. I made this one long to make up for it. _

As Alyssa predicted Skip was in the lobby when we got back. What she hadn't counted on was for him to be in a heated political debate with Maurice. To Alyssa's delight, as well as mine, there was no fatherly interrogation; just a simple "hey kids" before he was back to focusing on his debate. I walked her to the bottom of the stairs, not daring to walk her all the way to her room with Skip around. She was just about to go to her room when I found the courage to ask her out again.

"If you don't have plans tomorrow night do you want to watch a movie or something?"

"Really?" I don't understand why she always seems surprised when I ask her questions. "Yeah, sure. We can take our truck that way Judy can her car back."

With a surprisingly forward move from the shy beauty she stepped up onto the staircase until she was at eye level with me, turned around and kissed me. It was just as amazing as before, but I was acutely aware that her dad was on the other side of the room and was probably watching by now. I unwillingly pulled away and said goodnight. With a few shocked stares from the reception desk I said goodnight to Maurice and Skip on my way out to my apartment.

As planned we went to the movies the next night. Actually the movie was horrible but it was fun regardless. The night after that Alyssa showed me an amazing go-cart and putt-putt golf place. Those little cars were definitely not designed for werewolf comfort but seeing her smile at my attempts made it all the more fun. The night after our putt-putt adventure—the last night Alyssa was supposed to be in town—we decided to go out to dinner with Skip. I was willing to swing for a nice restaurant but Alyssa insisted that the pizza place from our first date would be perfect.

In the days since Alyssa and my first date Skip had been acting really odd around me. I chalked it up to a fatherly protective thing but I still wasn't at ease around him anymore. I had decided that I would _have to_ tell Alyssa about the legends that night. It was my last chance and I couldn't let her leave town not knowing the truth. I was going to get through dinner and then ask her if she would go on a walk with me. I didn't like how rushed it all felt to me. I wanted to be able to explain everything and give her time to let it sink in but I just didn't have that luxury. I was more nervous than I had ever been in my life.

Dinner was awkward for the most part. Skip kept a cool parental façade on the entire time. You could tell that he wasn't quite comfortable with Alyssa and me blatantly holding hands throughout the night. I'm sure stupid grin that was plastered all over my face whenever I was with Alyssa wasn't helping with his icy disposition in the least either. I had a feeling that the only thing making the night tolerable for either of us was Alyssa's bubbling excitement. By the time we were done eating I was sure she would burst if she didn't get whatever big news she was withholding out.

"Okay, I can't take it! I have to tell you!"

"Finally, what's going on?"

"Well, Daddy and I were talking about our trip today." I couldn't stop my face from falling a little. The thought of not being able to see her ever day was killing me. Alyssa just squeezed my hand and kept talking. "And we decided to stay a few extra days." My head shot up to look at Skip for a confirmation. He just nodded.

"Really? How? Why?"

With a happy giggle "Yes really, my boxes are all packed at home and with gas prices as high as they are its actually cheaper to have Nana mail my things to Seattle. That saves us an extra two days of driving and one day of packing."

"That's incredible!" I couldn't stop myself. Before I could even think about it I had pulled Alyssa out of our booth and was swinging her into a hug. I got to keep my angel for another three days. Nothing could be better.

"Jake, can't breath." I put her back down and took my seat. After my little outburst Skip looked even less comfortable than he did before. Our uncomfortable dinner out was over around 8:30. Alyssa wanted to go out for ice cream but Skip wasn't exactly in the mood so we took him back to the inn and went off on our own.

"So, your dad was in a good mood tonight." I mentioned once we were at the ice cream parlor.

"I don't know what's wrong with him lately. He's been in a grumpy mood almost the whole time I've been here and tonight I asked if he wanted to go to dinner he was so excited. Then he's back to being a crab when he meets us in the lobby. I just don't get it."

I was pretty sure I was the reason for the sudden unhappiness in Skip. I felt bad for taking Alyssa away from her dad so much but it felt even worse to be separated from her. "Did you tell him that I was coming to dinner tonight?"

"I don't know. I just thought that was obvious. I like spending time with you Jacob and I'm am eighteen years old. My dad should be able to accept that I'm an adult and am going to be in relationships."

Relationship? I knew that's what I wanted more than anything but we hadn't discussed the issue yet. Did she think of me as her boyfriend? I hope so because if that was just a slip of the tongue it could very well _kill _me.

"Alyssa . . . is that what this is?"

"What are you talking about?" She looked confused; in her mini rant she hadn't even noticed what she said.

"Are we in a relationship?" She immediately turned bright red and started avoiding eye contact with me. I couldn't handle her shyness at the moment. I needed an answer. I reached across the small table we were sitting at and lifted her chin so she was looking at me. "Please answer."

"I don't know Jake; I've never done this before." There was a short silence and I could tell she was trying to figure out what words to use. "I really like spending time with you. You make me happy and you're easy to talk to." Her eyes and her voice dropped so low that if it weren't for my sensitive hearing I would have never been able to hear her. ". . . not to mention you're gorgeous." Then she looked back up at me while I was trying to hide my grin. "I guess I kinda thought that's what this was. A relationship I mean." She had a worried look on her face like she thought I was going to start laughing or something. The truth was I could have cried I was so happy.

"Alyssa. Can you look at me for a second?" She cautiously looked up from her ice cream to make eye contact with me. "I think you're amazing. You're smart, and funny, not to mention you're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen. I'd love nothing more than to be your boyfriend if you'll have me."

"Oh Jacob, of course I'll have you. What more could I ask for?" I couldn't even attempt to hold in all the happiness that I was feeling at that moment. I reached across the table gently holding Alyssa's face in my hands and kissed her. It only took a second for the normal spark that I felt when kissing her to grow to forest fire proportions and the kiss ended up being more passionate than any of the others we had shared before.

After we finished our completely inappropriate public display of affection we decided to walk for awhile. I was so incredibly happy that she felt the same way as I felt for her, even if there was no possible way that her feelings could be as strong as mine. Not yet at least.

"What am I going to do after you leave?"

"What do you mean?"

"Oh come on Alyssa. I can't exactly just sit around here missing my _girlfriend_ while you go to school. I'll go crazy." She was quiet for quite some time while we continued to walk a round the populated sidewalks.

"Come with me."

"huh?"

"Don't just sit here. Come back with me. We're driving down anyways. There's enough room in the truck. You could go back home. What was your reservation called, La Pull?"

I just laughed, "La Push." Then I realized what she was saying. I pulled her away from my side and stepped in front of her so I could see her face. "You want me to go back to Washington with you?"

She was giving me her now infamous sheepish grin as she looked up at me. "It will give us a few more days together." God, I love this woman. She thought of everything.

"Yeah, you're right. I don't live that far from Seattle I can visit all the time and you could even come to La Push for a weekend or something." I was ecstatic. There was no possible way that this night could be better than it was right now. That concerned smirk was still on Alyssa's face. It was driving me nuts; I couldn't figure out what she was thinking to put the expression on her face. "What are thinking?"

"huh?" It was obvious I had pulled her out of her thoughts.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Oh, nothing."

"Come on Alyssa, you can tell me anything." She was hesitant but eventually decided to tell me.

"Why me? I'm nothing special Jake. I've never been the popular girl; I was never a cheerleader or prom queen. I'm the smart funny girl who was always friends with guys. I was never the girlfriend. I come here and meet you and I just don't get it. _Why me_?"

"I have never met anyone like you before in my life. You're the most beautiful person I have ever laid eyes on, inside and out. I don't know why you don't believe you're amazing but I'm going to dedicate every waking moment from this time forward to proving to you that you are every bit as miraculous as I know you are." She was crying about this time and I couldn't tell if they were happy or sad tears. "Alyssa, did I upset you? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just never imagined someone saying something like that to me. You're more than I deserve. Thank you Jacob."

"I seriously think you are crazy sometimes. You've got that all backwards." I kissed her on the forehead and pulled her back against my right side where I hoped she wouldn't mind staying forever.

We walked back to the truck in silence. We seemed to be mutually happy just to be enjoying each others company for the moment. By the time we made it back to the old flatbed I was in inner turmoil once again. Everything had gone amazingly well so far in the night and I wasn't sure if I wanted to risk ruining all of that with the legends in case she didn't take it well. Although if she did think they were interesting it would give her one extra night to ponder them before I dropped the bomb that they were all true. After much confusion I decided that I would leave it up to fait. If there was a clearly open way to transition into the conversation I would tell her the legends but if not I would hold them off until tomorrow.

We were almost all the way back to the inn before Alyssa spoke again.

"Jake?"

"Yeah?"

"You never actually answered my question." I couldn't for the life of me think of what question she was talking about. Had she asked something that I missed while I was thinking? Damn it Jake why can't you focus.

"What question was that?"

"Are you going to drive back to Washington with my dad and me?"

"Oh, that" We were pulling into the parking lot now and I was easing the truck into its usual spot. Once the car was stopped I turned so I could look at Alyssa. "I would love nothing better than to go back to Washington with you."

Pulling me into a hug her face lit up like the fourth of July. "Alright, I'll have to tell my dad about it in the morning . . . Are you sure you're ready to go home Jake? I don't want you to go just because of me if you're not ready."

Was I ready to go back home? There was so much back there that I didn't want to deal with, memories and people I didn't really want to face. Could I deal with all of the issues now that I had Alyssa? I knew that it wouldn't be easy and my guilt about Bella still bubbled in when I allowed myself to think about it but I was pretty sure that now that I had Alyssa in my life, and she was going to be close, there would be no better place for me to be then at home with my pack.

"I think I'm ready. I have to face the music sometime and I do miss my dad and friends a lot. Will you go with me when I go? I'm not sure how everyone will react to me anymore."

She looked nervous. "I don't know Jake. I'm not that great at first impressions and I might just make it worse for you."

"You can only help the situation. I promise. . . If you don't want to go I understand." I really wanted her to go with me. Her meeting the pack and my dad would be amazing. I knew that everyone was going to love her. Hell, the pack, pretty much knew her from how much I think about her when we run.

"If it'll help I'll go." Hopping out of the passenger side of the truck she looked over the hood to where I was standing waiting for her. "Do you want to borrow my phone?"

"For what?"

"To call your family, you know. Tell them you're coming home."

I felt somewhat stupid. Of course I would need to use a phone to call my family. How dumb do I have to be to forget most people don't have the same ability to talk to their family from thousands of miles away without a phone? "Maybe we should make sure all of this is okay with Skip before I call Billy."

"If you want, but I really don't think that he is going to mind." We were just about to walk into the lobby but she grabbed my arm to stop me. "I told you that Dad thinks you're a runaway right?"

"Yeah" I was starting to get nervous now. The subject hadn't really come up since I had told her I left because of Bella. It still wasn't my favorite topic of conversation and I was somewhat surprised that she was bringing it up.

"Well didn't you think it was kind of weird that he just accepted that and didn't try to send you back, or ask how old you are, or where you came from, or anything? I mean you don't look like you're young but if you're a runaway, you can't be more than seventeen, right?"

I couldn't look at her. She was right and she knew. I was just some stupid seventeen year old kid. "Yeah, I'm seventeen." I was a new seventeen at that, but I decided to leave that part out.

She grabbed my face with her little hands and forced me to look at her. "I don't care if you're a little younger than me, Jacob. That's fine with me. The reason I brought it up was more about my dad. He knew you were a runaway and didn't try forcing you to go home. When my dad was sixteen, he ran away from home. He didn't really want to but my mom's dad was really abusive. Him and my mom left and they were living wherever they could for a long time. After a few years they ended here and my mom opened the inn . . . My dad just didn't want to send you back to the same kind of situation or anything."

"I'm so sorry Alyssa. That's horrible."

A sweet smile crossed her face. "Jake, I wasn't even born yet. I think I'll be okay . . . My dad does like you Jake, I swear. He just doesn't want me to get hurt. I trust you; it's just going to take my dad some more time." I leaned down and stole a chaste kiss before I looked her directly in the eye and made a promise I would do anything to keep.

"Thank you for trusting me. I swear Ill do anything to keep your trust and to gain Skip's. If he needs time, I'll give it to him. Hell, I'm young I've got time.

The laugh I love so much told me that everything was going to work out in the end. After our informative talk about Skip I ended another amazing date with my angel. She gave me her cell phone for the night and told me to call my family and make the arrangements. I knew the phone wasn't going to be necessary but it was an important prop in not exposing my secret yet.

After saying my final goodnights to Alyssa and making sure she got back to her room safely I went back to my apartment to change into _"my"_ swim trunk and took off for the woods so I could run. Once I was hidden by the safety of the trees I phased and started to run. I somehow lucked out that the two perfect members of the pack were on patrol that night. I heard the thoughts of Jared and Sam in the back of my head. They were just the two werewolves I wanted to talk to.

_Hey Sam, Jared, how are things?_

_Good, good. Kim gets back from that stupid art camp her parents forced her to go to tomorrow so I'm stoked. _

_Well congrats then . . . So my _girlfriend_ wanted me to call and tell my family I'm coming home so here I am._

_So you told her? How'd she react? Wait. You didn't tell her did you? _I could hear the confusion in both of their thoughts

_Sorry, I know you told me to tell her but I just couldn't yet Sam, I just don't know how to do it. I want her to know but what if she thinks I'm crazy?_

_Jake, she won't think you're crazy. Emily didn't think I was crazy and Kim didn't think Jared was crazy. Bella accepted it, didn't she? Alyssa's your soul mate. Give her a little credit. You want her to trust you then you have to do the same for her. Looks to me that she told you a big secret of her own life, return the favor, Jake._

_Alright Sam, I will. I'm bringing her home with me. I'll have to take her back to school but she wants to go with me for 'moral support'. Tell Paul not to be a jerk when we get there._

_Umm, Jake, one, I'm sure Paul will be a jerk no matter what and two isn't it going to be a little hard for you to get over the boarder._

_What do ya mean Jared?_

_Well you ran up there before. If you're coming back down with Skip and Alyssa you're going to have to go through customs. You don't have any papers Jake._

_Shit! What am I gonna do? I can't exactly sneak over the boarder with my girlfriend's dad around. Sam what the hell am I going to do? _

_Calm down Jake, You howl like that and people are going to notice._ I hadn't even realized that I had let out a panic stricken howl. _We can fix this. We're going to just get your papers from Billy. He would have the stuff you need. I'm sure you'll be on the road at least a day before you get to the boarder. Find out if you're going to be staying in a hotel one night before you're going to need the papers. Call me on the phone when you find out. We'll send someone up to give you the papers either while you stay at a hotel or when you're eating or getting gas. That's the only way this is going to work._

_You're a genius Sam. Perfect. I'll talk to Alyssa in the morning and call you at your house. Tell all the guys I said hi, oh and Emily and Kim. Sam, will you let my dad know I'm coming home?_

_No Jake. _

What I couldn't believe he said that. I stopped dead in my tracks confused beyond belief.

_I'm not telling Billy and neither is Jared or anyone else. That man hasn't heard from you in weeks the only news about you that he gets is updates from us. Go call him Jake. Talk to your dad. That's an order._

_Sam it's eleven o'clock. He's gonna be sleeping. _

Jared's calmer thoughts filtered through Sam's annoyance._ He hasn't been sleeping well Jake. I think he worries about you. He doesn't want anyone to know but you can tell. _

Now not only did I miss my dad but now I was also worried about him and felt bad. Perfect. _ I'm on my way. I'll call tomorrow Sam. G'night._

I was back to the edge of the forest now and I phased, got dressed and ran back to my apartment. Alyssa's phone was sitting on the table next to my bed and I suddenly felt awful for not talking to Billy more. I had no choice but to call him now. It was an order and there was no getting around it. I grabbed the phone and dialed the number. I was suddenly worried about talking to Billy. Would he be mad at me? A distraught sounding Billy answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"Are you alright Dad?"

"Jake, how are you son? Are you okay? Is something wrong?"

"I'm good. I'm actually coming home."

"You are? When?"

"We leave in three days."

"We…?"

"Yeah, I'm sure the guys told you about Alyssa."

"They sure did. I'm happy for you Jake."

"She's great dad. Well, she and her dad, Skip, are going to down to Washington. Alyssa's gonna be a freshman at the U.W. this year and since we live down there I'm getting a ride with them. I know I would make it home faster if I ran but this gives me a few more days with her."

"Oh I understand. That's real nice, Jake. So you should be home in time to start school again. I want you to finish out your senior year. No dropping out."

"Alright, I'll be there. Oh and dad, I need the papers to get across the boarder. I talked to Sam and he's gonna have someone deliver them to me I just need you to find them for me."

"Oh sure, I know exactly where that stuff is. Your mom had a file box for each of you kids. It should all be in there. . ." I could picture my dad's face right now. He gets the same sad look in his eye every time he talks about my mom. It was even harder to imagine now that I knew what that kind of love felt like. "I'm going go get some sleep, Jacob. I'll have those papers ready for Sam tomorrow. It'll be good to see ya again kid."

"I can't wait to see you either, Dad." I was just about to hang up the phone when I heard my dad say something else.

"I love you Jake." I always knew my dad loved me but it wasn't something you heard very often.

"I love you too Dad."

I went to bed after my phone call with Billy. It had been a long day and I needed to get up in the morning and tell Judy and Skip that I was quitting. There were a million thoughts running through my head. I understood Alyssa, Skip, Billy, and I a lot better after the day I had. And that's about the time I realized it was really time to go home. I had done everything I needed to do while away from. I got over Bella, I figured out how to live without her, I knew more about who I was, and I even found the love of my life. I would have to say it had been a pretty successful summer.

_This is the longest chapter yet thanks to procrastination, boredom, 105 degree weather and insomnia. Reviews would be amazing. They make my day and tell me if people are enjoying where things are going. Thanks for reading._


	8. Truths and Promises

I do not own Twilight

_I do not own Twilight. All credit for everything that is Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, Breaking Dawn and or anything else goes to the wonderful Stephenie Meyer._

- - -

It was about eight in the morning and I was having a terrific dream. I had made it home perfectly fine and life was getting back to normal. I was currently running full speed toward an unsuspecting bloodsucker. It was an unusually sunny day for La Push and it was making the disgusting creature shine like a flashing target. It was only one lone little vampire and with both Quil and I running after it, it would be easy to take her out. The bloodsucker was standing in the middle of an open area within the forest, staring off into space. She had somehow found the only sunlight filtering through the thick cover to stand in. Quil was coming at her from the north and I was running in from the south. We were both air born speeding toward the leech when suddenly I was woken up by an old rock song that I couldn't even name. Alyssa's phone was ringing on the table next to me and in my sleep induced stupor I grabbed the gadget and pushed the talk button without thinking.

"Hello?"

"Hello" A confused voice greeted me. "Jake?! Is that you?"

"Umm, yeah." I still hadn't realized who I was talking to or whose phone I had just answered.

"What the _hell_ are you doing answering Alyssa's phone?" Skip's booming voice immediately woke me up. This definitely wasn't looking good.

"Skip, Alyssa lent her phone to me last night. I swear. You woke me up that's the only reason I even answered it."

As I tried to explain I could hear Skip's rushed footsteps as he ran through the inn. I could only guess he was either running out to my apartment, to kill me, or to Alyssa's room to make sure we weren't together. My suspicions were confirmed when I heard Skip banging on a door yelling at the top of his lounges. Good, I thought to myself; now he will find Alyssa and won't be mad anymore.

"Young lady, answer this door right now. I'm going to _kill _him."

"Skips little outburst lasted a total of thirty seconds before he was screaming at me again.

"She's out there in that apartment with you! Isn't she?" I could hear him running through the inn again and his breath was becoming quick.

"No sir, I swear to you; I haven't seen Alyssa since our date last night."

If I wasn't completely freaked out by the whole situation I would have been impressed with Skip's speed. By the time I was done talking the middle aged man was bursting into my room. He looked livid; I don't think I have ever seen someone turn such a deep shade of red before in my life. The only thing that remotely came close would be Charlie when I returned Bella's bike to her, but it definitely wasn't the time to think of that. While Skip was storming around my small apartment looking for his daughter Judy and Alyssa made an appearance having heard his tantrum as he was running through the lobby. Alyssa looked more confused and scared that I was. As soon as they made their way into my now crowded room and Alyssa came to stand next to me, I had found my voice again.

"Skip, look Alyssa's right here. She was with Judy the whole time." Skip stopped searching but he didn't look like he was any less angry.

"You get your hands off my daughter, _now_!" he thundered. I reluctantly lifted my hand off of Alyssa's shoulder and started to pull it away when Alyssa grabbed it stopping me in my action. She forcefully pushed my hand back to her shoulder. Her face was masked with an angry expression that she had never made in my presence before.

"Daddy, you know I love you but Jacob and I are together and no matter how much you dislike it he's my boyfriend and you are going to have to deal with that."

I couldn't believe I had just heard that come out of her mouth. Alyssa loved her dad more than anything and the thought of her blatantly starting an argument with him was shocking to me. Judging by the expression on her face, Judy was just as surprised as I was. Apparently Skip wasn't expecting her reaction either because his face automatically when from deep red to white.

"Excuse me?"

"I think you heard me daddy. Now, I'm sorry if this hurts you. You know that isn't my intention. But I'm an adult and you are just going to have to trust me, knowing you raised me to be a good person."

He looked slightly embarrassed now. My only guess is that he was finally realizing what he had just done. Avoiding eye contact and slightly mumbling he continued their conversation.

"It wasn't you that I didn't trust."

"This better not be about Jacob. Daddy you obviously trust him at least a little. You wouldn't have hired him if you didn't. Now is it really necessary to be so upset about this?"

"Trusting him to clean gutters and mow lawns is a hell of a lot different than trusting him with my daughter, Alyssa."

"Well _I_ trust him Daddy, and that's all that really matters right now. You two don't necessarily have to like each other but I would appreciate it if you could be civil. At least until _we_ get to Washington. Is that alright with you Dad?"

"_We_ get to Washington?"

"Yes Daddy, I asked Jake if he wanted to go home. He's riding down with us."

The man couldn't even put together a coherent response. He turned a shade of red that surpassed the impressive tone he had just conquered and stormed out of the room. I couldn't even make out the words that were streaming out in a mumbled tone. As he pushed past a speechless Judy her face was beyond priceless. Usually she is always good for some kind of snide comment, especially where I was concerned, but she just stood there mouth agape until Alyssa suggested that she go check on Skip to make sure he wasn't having a heart attack.

We just stood there in my empty apartment silently for a few minutes; I was in awe of her. I couldn't believe that she would say all those things and stand up to her father just for me. I was nowhere near being worthy of this angel.

"Well, that was a productive morning."

"I'm sorry about my dad Jake. I've never seen him like that before." She looked completely embarrassed by the whole thing. I wasn't quite sure how to tell her that her dad was somewhat right. Though he didn't say it out loud I could tell he was screaming in his head '_you're not good enough for my daughter_'. I didn't want this to upset her. I guess to be fair I didn't want anything to upset her but I had to work with one upsetting situation at a time.

"It's really not a big deal. If I was as special as you are I'm sure Billy would put NOS on his wheelchair just to keep up with us. You're special and your dad just cares about you . . . Are you sure it's a good idea for me to go with you guys? That wasn't exactly the reaction I was expecting."

"No, that is not negotiable. You want to go home and this is the best way for that to happen. Plus . . ." as she spoke she snaked her arms around my waist and pulled herself closer to me. "I don't want to lose a two day drive with you because of my dad's childishness." Oh how I loved this girl.

"So, I talked to my family last night. . ."

"Oh, really?" The amazing smile I loved so much stretched across her face. "Are they excited?"

"Yeah, really excited. I need to call them back today though. They wondered if we were driving straight down or if we were going to stop at a hotel and details like that."

"Oh sure. We're going to drive all of Monday and then stay at a hotel in Fort Nelson until Tuesday morning when we start again and we'll go straight through after that. We'll have to share the driving but that shouldn't be that big of a deal with three of us."

"Cool. I'll make sure to tell my dad . . . So I was wondering . . . Back on the rez for big occasions sometimes we have these really amazing bonfires where the tribal elders and all my friends get together to tell the history of our people. They were thinking about doing one when we I mean _I_ get home. Do you think you might wanna go with me?"

I was well aware that nobody had mentioned a bonfire to me when I talked to them but I thought that would be a good way for Alyssa to meet everyone that is important to me at once. Emily loved this kind of stuff, plus the guys would never give up a prime opportunity to eat.

"Sure, that actually sounds really fun Jake. Are you sure they won't mind. I mean I'm not from La Push or anything and meeting your tribal elders seems like a big deal."

"Oh no, they'll be fine with it. Don't worry about the elders. They consist of my dad, my friend Quil's grandpa, Seth's mom and Sam. It's not that big of a deal. If you want I'll even tell ya the legends tonight so you won't be surprised when you get there."

"Sure that might make me less nervous. Just the idea of meeting your friends and family is stressful."

"Don't worry about it. They will love you. Tonight I'll tell you all about my tribe. Now, I'm warning you that my dad tells the legends about a thousand times better than I do but I'll give it a try."

"I look forward to it; I'll see ya tonight. I'm going to go make sure my dad returned to his original color." She gave me a quick kiss and then turned to leave.

Once Alyssa had left and I was actually dressed for the day I called Sam and told him what the plan was. He was going to send someone up with my birth certificate, license, and wallet. I was supposed to phase in the nearest woods I could find and meet up with whoever it was around midnight. I told him about my plan to tell Alyssa the legends before we left and then to have her go with me to a bonfire when we got there. He told me that a bonfire would be no problem and everything would be ready when I showed up.

- - -

I was getting more and more nervous to tell Alyssa the legends as the day went on. This was the easy part too. Legends, stories that I heard growing up, that's all they would be; she wouldn't even know that they were true, but I was still nervous. Alyssa and Skip went out to dinner that night. I was pretty sure she was trying to calm him down before our long trip together. This left me alone for dinner with nothing to do but think and worry.

After returning from dinner Skip didn't seem any happier than he did when they left and Alyssa was starting to feel defeated. The two of us sat in front of the big fire place in the lobby cuddling together on the couch. She had just gotten done telling me about her dinner disastrous with Skip and was in the worst mood I had seen her in. I wanted to take her mind off of all the unnecessary stress her dad was putting on her.

"Do you still want to hear the stories?"

"Mhmm." She was lying against my chest with her eyes closed. I was afraid if I just started the stories she was going to fall asleep.

"You sure, I don't want you falling asleep in the middle. If you're tired I'll tell you tomorrow night."

"Nope, tell me tonight _please_." She made an effort to open her eyes and smile at me. There was no way I could deny that adorable face so I started.

"Okay. _'The Quileutes have been a small people from the beginning and we are a small people still, but we have never disappeared. This is because there has always been magic in our blood'_ (_Eclipse pg 244)_ . . .

We stayed up most of the night. I told her all of the Quileute legends. I loved every minute of it. Though I wasn't nearly as good at it as Billy was I think I did a pretty good job. I felt like I was sharing every bit of my self with her finally. When I told her about the cold ones she wiggled her way closer to me and squeezed my torso tight. I couldn't help but feel ecstatic that somewhere in her subconscious she knew I could protect her. When all of the stories were told and Alyssa looked like she was about to fall asleep I got off the couch and started to lift her up so I could carry her to her room. Not bothering to open her eyes and half asleep already she started to mumble.

"Mmm, what are you doing?"

"You're asleep; I'm taking you to your room."

"Don't hurt yourself Jake. I can walk."

"It's okay, shhh . . . just sleep."

By the time we made it all the way to her room Alyssa was thoroughly asleep. I didn't even worry about her noticing as I supported her with one arm and pulled her covers back with the other. As I gently placed her in bed and pulled the covers over her she started to stir. I leaned down and brushed my lips against her smooth forehead. Her eyes fluttered open with the action.

"You know what Jacob?"

"What sweetie?" I whispered trying not to wake her further.

"I think you'd make a good protector." The most ridiculously goofy grin covered my entire face. Somewhere, even if it was really deep down and she isn't consciously aware of it, she was taking the stories seriously. This night couldn't have gone any better than it had.

- - -

Life at the Aurora Inn had been exceptionally awkward since Friday's early morning explosion. Skips had accepted me going on the trip with him and Alyssa but that didn't mean he was happy about it _at all_ or that his sour attitude had gone away. We were on our last night in Dawson City when I couldn't take Skip's silent treatment anymore.

The staff had put together a small party for both a going away and as a congratulations for Alyssa's going to school. The kitchen staff had made a cake and Judy and Maurice decorated the lobby. I was trying to control my irrational jealousy caused by yet another male member of the staff insisting on giving Alyssa a hug goodbye when I realized Skip was still glaring at me from his corner on the other side of the room. I couldn't hand both irritations at the same time and I figured Skip would be the easier of the two to deal with. I wasn't going to be able to take the annoyed stare for the entire drive and was going to talk to him about it.

"Skip, do you think we can talk outside for a minute?" He nodded his head, still not speaking to me. We walked outside to the deck where Skip leaned against the railing and took up a defensive stance, arms crossed over his chest and the icy glare I was getting accustomed to staying prominently on his aging face.

"You don't like me, do ya Skip?"

"Not particularly."

"Do you mind if I ask what has changed between two weeks ago and now?"

At first he just scoffed and shook his head then he finally said "Maybe you are a dumby after all kid."

"Well, I'm guessing this has more to do with me and Alyssa rather than just me. Am I right?"

"You're an observant one Jake."

This wasn't getting any easier. I had to be direct. "What exactly about me being with Alyssa bothers you?" Right after the words left my mouth I knew this wasn't going to be pretty. I started to tap into all of the calm I had on reserve. If what Skip was about to say was as bad as I thought it might be I would have to work hard not to phase. Right when I started to panic he spoke.

"That girl in there is my everything Jake." This wasn't exactly the response I was expecting. "After her mother died I swore I would do anything to keep her safe and happy. I picked you up on the side of the road one day. I didn't ask you for your story. I just saw a kid who needed help and I gave it to him. Now that kid is with my daughter while I'm still not sure who he is. I don't know what kinda trouble brought you here but I don't want Alyssa in the middle of it. She's got her head on straight. She's gonna go to school and she's gonna make something of herself. I don't plan to let a runaway that she has a crush on to ruin that for her."

"Mr. West" I decided that being as serious as possible could only help at the moment. "I know I'm asking a lot of you right now, but please trust me. I only want what's best for Alyssa. She knows why I'm here. I told her the whole story and she still trusts me. Alyssa's the smartest girl I've ever met. If you could trust not only my words here but Alyssa's judgment of me I'd appreciate it. If Alyssa wants to go to school she'll go. She'll graduate and get a career and do all the things that she wants to do. I don't want to stop her from doing anything. She looks up to you sir and if I'm going to have any kind of a chance at making this work with your daughter I'm gong to need your approval."

After my little speech we just stood there for silently for what seemed like an eternity. Neither of us spoke and Skip was staring into the night sky. His face was unreadable then he looked over to me and simply said "Okay."

Okay? What the heck does that mean? Okay I approve, okay you're not coming with us, okay I'll stop glaring at you and picturing interesting ways for you to die. Okay could mean way too many things to be an acceptable answer.

"Okay . . . what sir?"

"One, stop calling me sir, makes me feel old, and two; I'll give you your fair shot. I won't hate ya 'til ya give me reason. I'm not gonna be there in Washington watching so you better be good to my little girl."

He didn't hate me or at least he wasn't going to be blatant about his hate. That could only help as far as Alyssa was concerned.

"Thank you sir, I mean Skip. I swear I will prove myself worthy of Alyssa."

"Alright kid . . . We're missin' a party. Let's get back."

The look on Alyssa's face when Skip and I walked into the room together was a mix of amazement, shock, and pure joy. As she ran up to greet me Skip sauntered over to talk to some of the kitchen staff.

"What was that about?" Alyssa wasn't even trying to hide her burning curiosity.

"We have an understanding is all."

"Oh really" quizzically raising her eyebrows she asked "and what would that understanding entail?"

I just smirked. "He just agreed to not hate me unless I deserve it. I'm going to earn his trust someday. I promise."

"I believe you, Jacob."

The rest of the night went on without event. The staff said their goodbyes to Alyssa and Skip. Some even extended well wishes to me. Judy's farewell was the funniest 'goodbye' of the night though.

"It was the cops wasn't it?"

"What?"

"You Jake, you're running from the cops aren't you? You have to tell me or I'll go insane."

I couldn't help it I just chuckled, pulled Alyssa closer to my side and said. "I'll miss you to Judy."

With all the farewells said we headed to our perspective rooms to finish our last minute packing and to get rest for our early morning departure.

- - -

_Please, please, please review. I'm not sure if anyone other than deviLISH-innocence is enjoying this. By the way this chapter is totally dedicated to her for being one heck of a dedicated reader. All kinds of comments are appreciated. _


	9. Never Too Much

I don't own Twilight or any of its characters

_I don't own Twilight or any of its characters. All credit goes to the lovely and talented Stephenie Meyer. This Chapter goes out to Dances With Werewolves for her amazingly sweet review. Thank you so much. ENJOY!_

- - -

No matter how much Skip _said_ he was going to give me a chance he still wasn't thrilled with the situation. I might be wrong but gathering from the disgusted looks and forlorn groans every time he noticed Alyssa and my hands locked together, he wasn't enjoying the drive. I wasn't about to let his dislike get me down. I was on my way home, to my pack, my dad and I was going to be close proximity to Alyssa for two full days. Yeah, life was all smiles for one Jacob Black.

We had been driving all day, ten hours in a car was enough to drive anyone crazy. We had only stopped a few times to eat and to use the restroom. Skip had insisted on being the primary driver. I think it was a good distraction for him instead of having to actually watch Alyssa and me. We pulled into Fort Nelson two hours ahead of schedule, after grabbing a quick bite to eat and getting a room I needed to call Sam. I borrowed Alyssa's cell phone and headed to a secluded corner of the lobby. I dialed the number for Sam's house and waited for someone to pick up.

"Uley residence" a chipper female voice answered.

"Hello? . . . Who is this?" I was slightly confused; that definitely wasn't the normal relaxed way that either Sam or Emily would answer the phone.

"This is Kim may I ask whose calling?"

"Oh, hey Kim, it's Jake."

"Oh, hi Jake, do you want me to find one of the guys for you? I think Embry is in the living room."

"Well is Sam around?"

"Yeah, lemme get him." I heard her set the phone down on the counter and walk away.

"_Umm, excuse me Sam. Jakes on the phone."_ She always sounded so nervous when she was talking to Sam. I guess he could be pretty intimidating to someone who isn't in his head most of the time, plus Kim was small and shy to begin with. _"I'll grab it. Thanks Kim."_ The sound of Sam picking up the phone was the next thing I heard.

"Jake, where are ya?"

"We just got into Fort Nelson about an hour ago. We got here early so we grabbed a bite. I was just calling for an update."

"Oh well I'll send Jared out to check for me." _"Hey Jared, Go see if he's getting close. Jake's there already." _"Jared will be right back."

"Okay. So how is everyone?"

"Good, Emily's all ready for the bonfire. I swear that woman can prepare a party faster than anyone."

"Yeah she's pretty great. Thanks for doin' that by the way. I told her the legends and it went over really well."

"Good, did you tell her everything?"

"No, just the legends, I was thinking I would wait until she hears them properly from Billy and Old Quil, then I would drop the bomb."

"If that's what you think is best. Ill tell everyone so nobody says anything to _revealing_."

"Thanks."

I heard Jared come back into the room and start talking to Sam in a muted tone.

"Okay so you have about a half hour or so and then you need to be in the forest is that clear."

"Yeah. I'll call once we're in state."

"Talk to ya later Jake." The phone when dead and I went back over to talk to Alyssa and Skip.

". . . We're taking off at six o'clock sharp. If you guys aren't ready I'm leavin' ya." I didn't really believe Skip's threats well at least not where Alyssa was concerned. I could see him leaving me behind easily.

"Did you get a hold of your family?" Alyssa asked me sweetly, ignoring her fathers warning.

"Yeah, they're all ready and excited for the bonfire."

"Well I think I'm gonna get some shut eye. Tomorrows will be a long day and I want everyone awake for it. We're in room 267 here's your key cards. Our room has two beds and they sent up a roll away for you Jake."

"Alright, thank you Skip."

"No, Jake you take the other bed that roll away is going to be too small for you."

"Are you serious?" Skip wasn't looking happy with the idea of Alyssa giving up her comfort for me. That's plenty alright with me though because there is no way I would let her sleep on a roll away when there is a perfectly good bed for my angel.

"No it's fine really. There is no way it's smaller than my bed at home. I'll be perfectly okay; I promise."

"Well if you're sure." I just nodded my head.

"Well I'm going upstairs now. Alyssa you should get to sleep soon, you too Jake. We have a long drive ahead of us."

"Yeah Dad, I'll be up soon."

"I'm just going to go for a run before I go to bed. It helps me relax."

"Well just don't wake me up when you come in."

"Will do." Once Skip was gone Alyssa let out a huff of air and looked relieved.

"I swear he is the most stubborn man ever born. I cannot believe he is being so rude to you. You don't deserve that." Her arms effortlessly wound their way around my torso and she rested her head on my chest.

"I don't care; really as long as you want me around I can deal with your dad not liking me. I would really enjoy it if he approved of me but as long as you do that's what matters to me." I bent down so I was her height and kissed her on the forehead. "I'll be back after awhile. A nice long run will help me relax after the car ride."

"Alright, I think I'm just going to go to bed. Ill probably be asleep when you get back."

"Good, rest up."

Skip was in bed sleeping, Alyssa was going to bed, and I was running into the forest to get paperwork from a wolf. Yeah, nothing about my life is simple is it? Once I found a safe place to phase I stripped out of my clothes, leaving most of them on a fallen log and only carrying with me a pair of pants. With my pants strapped to my leg I let the familiar hot sensation take over and I was a wolf. I couldn't hide my shock when I met the thoughts of only one other pack member. I would have never guessed that Sam would do this but it wasn't a trick. Within five minutes time I would be face to face with Seth, who I hadn't spoken to or phased with in almost a month.

_Hi Seth_

_Hello Jake_

_Seriously stop worrying about me. I'm fine._ I didn't really understand his concern. I had Alyssa now; Bella was just a necessary part of my past.

_You have every reason to be pissed off at me but just remember I have a long run ahead of me and having all four legs would help with that._

_Stop that. I'm not going to rip off your legs. That's not even a good visual. If you didn't want to come see me why did you come?_

_I didn't have a choice, Sam made me. Trust me I begged him for a few more days to live before you came home and killed me. _ I was really getting annoyed now.

_Stop it! That's an order this time. I am not going to hurt you. I guess I should actually be thanking you. _

_What?_ I could feel the immense confusion that was scrambling Seth's thoughts.

_If you hadn't gone a little overboard with the wedding thoughts I would have never phased back meaning I would never have met Alyssa. _ The images of my angel bombarded my every thought and Seth gasped in shock.

_You imprinted?_

_How did you_ not_ know that?_

_Well it's a long story but I got grounded, I'm sure I'm the first protector in history to get grounded for a history grade, anyways and my mom arranged it with Sam so I was only doing patrol with Leah. Apparently she didn't think this was something I needed to know. _What a harpy. I can't believe she would leave her only brother in the dark feeling awful for no reason.

_Well now that you do know there's no reason to fear loss of limbs. _

_Sweet, Hey I see you I'm gonna phase now._

_Okay,_ I thought but Seth was already gone. I phased back and put on my pants, Stepping into the open area where Seth was waiting for me.

"So coming home huh?" Seth was a quick one tonight. I thought that was obvious by this little quest.

"Yeah, Alyssa is going to school at the U.W. so I'll be closer to her this way. Plus I have to start school too ya know. You're gonna be a freshman. Someone's gotta pick on ya."

"Thanks"

"No problem." Seth's hands were stuffed into his pockets and he was staring at his feet. After a short silence he grabbed a sandwich bag out of his pocket and handed it to me. Inside were my birth certificate, license, and wallet.

"Oh thanks. I needed this . . . obviously." Seth just nodded visibly still feeling awkward. I didn't want something as stupid as this to mess up the pack. "Listen Seth, I'm not sad anymore or upset with you at all. I have Alyssa, I don't need anyone else. Are we good now?"

Nodding his head but still looking unsure Seth asked something I wasn't expecting. "You know I'm still friends with them right?"

"Kinda guessed. Hey that's cool. If you can stand the smell of them more power to ya."

"She asks about you sometimes. She just wants to make sure that you're okay."

"I still don't want to see her . . . but . . . you can tell her I'm okay. That I found someone."

"'K, I can do that."

I was about to walk away back toward the hotel when I stopped mid-step. I knew I would regret it two seconds after I asked but I had to know. "Seth,"

"Yeah?" He responded turning back around to face me.

"Did she do it?" It came out at barely a whisper, thankfully he knew what I was asking without making me elaborate. I was pretty sure I already knew the answer.

"Umm, well . . . I haven't heard from them in awhile but she wanted it to be before her birthday which is the thirteenth . . . I think so." I could hear the sympathy in his voice and I didn't even want to see his eyes. Just because I had Alyssa and she was my world that didn't mean I was a fan of Bella becoming a leech. She deserved better than that.

"Thanks. I'm going to go back to Alyssa now. I'll see ya when I get home."

"Bye Jake."

I ran back to my clothes not bothering to phase and got dressed. When I made it back to the hotel Alyssa still hadn't gone upstairs. Instead she was sitting in an oversized chair in the lobby reading an outdated magazine.

"What are you doing?" I obviously startled her. She jumped a good three inches out of her seat and her hand was holding her rapidly beating heart in her chest. Once she let out a quick squeal she looked up.

"Oh Jake, it's you. You scared me."

"I hadn't guessed that. What are you doin' up? I thought you were going to bed?"

"Well I was but then . . ." She looked nervous and wouldn't make eye contact with me.

"Then . . .?"

"Then I thought about tomorrow and how that's our last day together and you'll be going to La Push the next morning. That was fine but then I realized that I had _one day_ until I meet your family and it freaked me out. I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep so I came downstairs to read."

"You have nothing to worry about. Their going to love you I promise. Emily's just excited to have another girl around. It's been only her and Kim for way to long."

"What none of your friends have girlfriends?"

"Well none that we bring around the pack." Before I could stop it the words were out. I had mentioned my friends as a pack. _Please_ don't let her notice. _Please_ don't let her notice.

"Pack? What are you some kind of gang?" Oh no she noticed. My internal mantra didn't work. I actually had to laugh a little at her assumption. It was the same thing I would have thought a year ago when all of this started. I couldn't lie to her. It wouldn't be fair. I had to tell her the whole truth now.

"Oh wow, umm . . . no not a gang. My friends and I, well . . . How do I say this?"

"Jake are you okay. You look a little off. What's wrong? Was it something I said? I'm sorry; I didn't mean to insult your friends." She was starting to panic too. This wouldn't go over well if both of us were freaking out at the same time. She had to calm down before I told her.

"No, no you didn't do anything wrong. I promise." I couldn't very well tell her in the lobby of a hotel. If she freaked out and started yelling, or even worse wanted me to prove it to her, it would be easier to deal with if we were outside. "It's a nice night out do you want to go for a walk?"

"Sure." She didn't looks sure but she was coming anyways, so I wasn't about to complain. We made our way down toward a small walking trail not far from the hotel. We were just about to enter the cover of the trees when Alyssa's quiet shaking voice brought me back from my thoughts.

"Um, where are we going?"

"No where in particular, just walking."

"Okay." Her nervousness wasn't helping my fear of telling her at all.

"You trust me don't you Alyssa?"

"Yeah, I trust you." We had found a small picnic area with a few tables and a bench next to a small pond. It was peaceful and would be as good of a place as any to drop the bomb so I decided to stop there. After sitting for a minute I dove in.

"Did you like those stories I told you the other night? The ones about Taha Aki, and the spirit warriors."

She wasn't expecting me to lead the conversation here. That was clear from her somewhat confused and relieved expression. "Yeah I did, they were magical."

"I'm glad you liked them, and I'm _really_ glad I shared them with you."

"I'm glad too Jake." We were sitting on a long bench at a picnic table and Alyssa had grabbed one of my hands in her two small one.

"The people in La Push, well some of them, take those stories very serious. They aren't legends to them. They're real, true history."

"I understand. If this is about the gang comment, I'm sorry. I won't say anything like that in front of your friends. I don't want to offend anyone." She looked mortified as if she just ran over a beloved family pet. I couldn't let her suffer like this any more.

"Oh no that not it. It's just . . . how do I say this and make you believe me?"

"Just say it Jake, I'll believe you. I think you've proven that you're honest with me, especially after the whole Bella, and running away thing."

I took a deep breath and decided there was no easy way. I was just going to have to tell her. Get it over with. "You see Alyssa if you would have asked me about year ago what I thought about those stories I would have said that they were stupid superstitions and that my dad was crazy for believing in them, but I can't say that anymore."

Alyssa just looked at me. I could tell she wanted me to go on so I continued talking. "It's all real Alyssa. The cold ones and the werewolves and spirit warriors, Every last bit of its true . . . I know this for a fact because . . . because . . . because I'm a werewolf Alyssa."

As her eyes grew to the size of dinner plates and her mouth fell open I knew she thought I was crazy. She would be calling the men with white jackets and butterfly nets to come and haul me away any minute. We sat there with her staring at me for a solid minute and a half before I couldn't take the not knowing anymore.

"Alyssa, can you say something sweetie?"

"I…I…I don't think you could have come with a meaner way to break up with me." Her eyes were filling with tears and she looked like she was getting herself ready to runaway from me. She thought I was breaking up with her. That I had made up this elaborate story in order to hurt her. She was upset and I was becoming thoroughly angry with myself. My entire body started to shake without my permission. I hadn't phase without consciously wanting to in months and I wasn't about to start again when I was so close to Alyssa. I had to calm myself down.

"No, Alyssa, I swear I'm not lying. It's the truth." She was standing up now. She was going to walk away go back to Skip tell her that I was crazy; tell him they should leave me here. I couldn't handle it. I softly grab her wrist and began to beg her to stay. "Don't leave, please let me explain."

She reluctantly took her seat. I'm not sure if it's because she actually cared to listen or if she just knew that she couldn't break my grasp of her arm. "You have two Jacob." She had tear streaming down her face now and my heart ached to make them stop.

"I know you don't believe me but it's all true. I'm _not _breaking up with you. I want to be with you that's why I'm being honest. You mean the world to me and I just couldn't lie to you." I was trying to keep the tears from breaking out of my own eyes when she looked at my face.

"Jacob, are you crying?" It came out at barely a whisper. She timidly raised her hand to my face to wipe of the loan tear that was making its slow journey down my cheek. "You're serious aren't you?" She looked astonishingly beautiful as always but there was a hint of sadness in her eyes.

"Dead serious, I wouldn't lie to you about this sweetie. I phased for the first time last spring. I'm a werewolf and my friends back home: Sam and Quil, Embry all them are my pack. That's why I'm so warm and fast. There's a lot of stuff like that. Perks I guess. "

She was looking me straight in the eye, her face was unreadable. With her hands securely holding my face, her face started to soften and her tears were drying up. Her words were almost silent. Even I was straining to hear them as she slowly started to speak.

"I believe you. I have no idea why. It sounds so crazy and maybe I'm crazy for believing it. I don't have any clue why but you sound so sure." Her face broke just a little and she looked down and my hands. After sitting there quietly for what felt like an eternity I had to see her face again, to know if she was scared or worried. I had to make her know that I was there to protect her. Slowly lifting my hands to her chin and brought it up so she was looking at me again.

"Alyssa, are you alright?"

Nodding her head, I could see her trying to form a coherent verbal thought. "Jacob, am I supposed to be afraid of you? . . . Cause I can't find it in myself to be."

I don't know what came over me but as soon as the words came out of her mouth I had enveloped her in a hug, picking her up and pulling her as close to me as I could. She believed me and better yet she wasn't afraid of me. I knew I had to tell her everything, about sharing thoughts and not aging and about imprinting. I knew I would have to tell her those things but right at the moment all I cared about was her knowing I wouldn't hurt her. "They call them protectors for a reason Alyssa. We protect people." An image of Emily's scared face flashed in my head. If I was going to be honest with Alyssa I was going to have to tell her everything. Even the things that I want to shelter from. "Of course there have been instances where people get hurt. Emily has scars from Sam. He phased to close to her just once and now scars are a reminder to us all that we have to be careful."

"She stayed with him after that?" she asked incredulously.

"Well, there are a lot of things that come with being a werewolf that are pretty cool. Like when we're in wolf form we can communicate, we hear each others thoughts. And I'm always warm, I can run forever and not get tired, and we imprint."

"What's that?"

"Well imprinting is . . . amazing . . . it's when one of us sees that one girl we're meant to be with. It's like finding your soul mate. Sam imprint on Emily and Jared imprint on his girlfriend Kim. Quil imprinted too. The first time you see that girl you aren't in control anymore. You're living your life for them and when what they need and want. You'd be for anything for them; if they need you to be a friend, that's what you become, same if they need father, brother, or a lover you'll be anything. I'd say it's like love at first sight but it's so much stronger than that." I had gotten so lost in my explanation that I had missed the expression that had covered Alyssa's face. It was hopeful yet scared and embarrassed all rolled into one.

"J…Ja…Jake?" Her voice was shaking and her gaze was boring into my very soul. "H…Has anyone else done this?"

A small smile spread across my face. "Yeah actually umm . . . me." Her face turned tomato red in an instant. I couldn't tell if she was humiliated, terrified, or elated. "Is that okay with you Alyssa? . . . not that I can take it back."

"You love me?" The emotion she was feeling finally became evident. Though shock was still the most prevalent aspect of her face it was clear that she was happy about this.

"I love you more than I ever thought humanly possible. You're my life Alyssa. I know that we haven't known each other long so don't think that I expect you to feel the same way about me. I'm just asking for a chance, to be around you, to protect you."

"_Please _Jacob. Don't break my heart."

"That's not possible. I love you too much."

She finally smiles at me and her eyes lit up. "Never too much."

We stayed on those benches for hours talking with sweet kisses thrown in wherever possible. I explained pretty much everything there was to know about being a werewolf. I told her that even though we aren't ashamed of what we are it has to be a secret. She completely understood and promised not to tell anyone. By the time we knew it we were watching the sun rise over the pond. It was the most beautiful sunrise I had ever experienced, even if wasn't necessarily watching the sun. Just witnessing Alyssa's face light up at the natural beauty of the scene was enough to make me happy for the rest of the day, probably the rest of my life. A few minutes after day break, Alyssa jumped out of my grasp and started to pace around the open area. I had no idea what was wrong until she grabbed her cell phone out of her pocket.

"Crap, crap, crap. He's gonna kill us."

"Slow down sweetie what's wrong?" I grabbed her around the waist and pulled her closer to me.

"My dad, Jake! It's five. We're leaving in an hour. I'm sure he's awake and we never even went to bed last night. He's gonna _kill _us."

"Calm down." I tried to sooth her but she wasn't having it at the moment. "I'll take the blame. He doesn't like me anyways. It will be okay."

"No, I can't let you take the fall. I'm just as much of an adult as you are. I made the choice to stay out here with you. I wouldn't give this night up for the world plus I can't have my father hating my soul mate now can I?"

"If that's what you want I'll back you up. I'll be right next to you the whole time." I pulled her into a quick hug, kissed her forehead and then took her left hand and headed back toward the hotel and one very angry Skip.

- - -

_I was terrified to write this chapter but Jacob and Alyssa were screaming in my head so I had to get it out there. No I'm not crazy just enthusiastic. Review would be amazing. I'm not sure if I captured this how Jacob would actually going about telling her so I would like to know what you guys think. Any suggestions are welcome. Thank you so much for reading. _


	10. The Road Less Taken

I do not own Twilight or any of its characters

_I do not own Twilight or any of its characters. All credit goes to the lovely Stephenie Meyer._

_I'm sorry that this update took so long. There was a death in my family and life has gone a little crazy lately._

- - -

The large yellow building came into view and Alyssa immediately tensed at the sight. She was petrified; as soon as we could clearly see the building she stopped dead in her tracks and dropped me hand. I turned back to look see what was wrong, only to be met with a terror stricken look and Alyssa vehemently shaking her head.

"I cannot go in there Jake. I don't think I can stand him being this mad at me."

"It'll be fine I'm right there with you. If things get too bad we'll blame everything on me. If he wants to leave me here I'll run home. He won't be mad at you. I'm pretty sure he'll know this is my fault."

"No, no, no, Jake, we really can't go in there. He's gonna be _so _mad." I took her up into a hug trying to calm her frazzled nerves. "I got it! You said you were big. I can ride you home. That way neither of us has to go in there. I'll call him from the road."

I wanted to laugh at her plan but I didn't want to upset her more. Trying to suppress my amusement I told her "honey, we can't do that. It's a very long ride, your dad would be worried sick, and I know you don't really want to runaway from him. You don't want to hurt him like that."

She looked up at me with an adorable pout that I instantaneously kissed away. "You're right." I couldn't hold in my chuckle that time. I could tell she didn't like admitting that I was right but she had to in this instance. "Alright, maybe we can talk him down from trying to kill us, well you, and then I think I'll be able to make him let you back into the truck."

"Don't stress about me. Believe it or not, I can take care of myself." I bent down so I was right next to her ear and whispered "I'm the werewolf, remember?" She just looked up at me, knitted her eyebrows together in determination, grabbed my hand and marched off toward the hotel. With every yard we got closer to the entrance of the lobby Alyssa's footsteps became less and less sure. I gently squeezed her hands to remind her I was going to stay with her no matter what. With one more nervous smile shared between us, I opened the thick glass doors separating us from the open lobby.

To both of our surprise Skip wasn't red faced and waiting there for us. I wasn't sure what would be the best move. Alyssa looked up to me with questioning eyes wondering about what we should do too. I gently tugged on her arm toward the elevators. If he wasn't down here the only way to get this over with was going to be to meet him. We were going to the room.

The entire walk to the elevators and ride up neither of us spoke a word. We knew what we were going to have to do. There was no getting round it. As the elevator doors opened and we stepped out of the claustrophobic box and took the sharp left turn that would lead us to room 267. Getting more and more tense as we walked we headed toward our room 250 . . . 255 . . . 260 . . . 265 . . . 266 . . . 267 standing outside the room we gave each other one more nervous look and I got out the previously unused key card.

The sight that awaited us when we entered the room took both Alyssa and me by complete and utter shock. Skip's back was turned to us and he was calmly and quietly repacking his bag for the trip. The noise of the door alerted him to our entrance and he slowly turned to meet Alyssa's eyes.

"Mornin' Alyssa. We'll be headed out in forty-five minutes or so; you might wanna get ready and grab something to eat before we go." Without so much as acknowledging my existence or even looking at me he finished zipping up his suitcase and pulled it out the door behind him. Left completely dazed and standing in the empty hotel room Alyssa and I stared at each other, both trying to sort through what just happened. Eventually Alyssa broke the silence and the odd tension our little encounter had created. "Jake?"

"Yeah?"

"What the _hell_ was that?" I had never heard Alyssa curse and the thought of any word like that slipping out of the lips of an angel quite literally sent me into a fit of laughter. Alyssa joined me in my laughter, though I'm sure she was laughing for some other reason.

"I have no clue, I was expecting a red faced, high decibel, shaking with anger screaming match but all we found was calm, cool, and collected Skip. Ya, think he just thought we got up before him?"

"He's not stupid Jake. We're wearing the same clothes as we were yesterday and our beds are untouched. I'm not sure what's going on but I have _serious_ doubts that he really doesn't care about this. If I know my dad at all he is fuming behind that tranquil mask he is wearing."

"Yeah, I'm thinking the same thing. It should make the rest of today interesting at least. Do you want to change out here or in the bathroom?"

"I'll take the bathroom." She picked up the small duffel bag with her things and carried it into the brightly lit room.

Getting dressed for the day I was still trying to figure out Skip's odd behavior. I was dressed and ready to go quicker than Alyssa so I was sitting on the edge of the untouched bed waiting. About ten minutes after she entered the room Alyssa came out with a fresh outfit, brushed hair and a sparkling smile on her face. I impulsively shot off the bed and wrapped her in a hug. All I was consciously aware of was the feeling that I had to have this beautiful woman in my arms and it wasn't negotiable. Despite her surprise she returned the embrace. Still caught in my grasp she spoke into my chest.

"I think we should get down stairs. I don't want to upset my dad anymore and having a hungry werewolf crammed into a car with my dad for several hours wouldn't be ideal either." I still couldn't believe how well she was taking everything. I was somewhat worried that once she had time to think about everything and it really sunk in she would realize what she was getting herself into and run away from me screaming. For now her being able to joke with me about the werewolf side of my life made me love her even more than I thought possible.

"True that wouldn't be a pretty sight. I might wither away." With that sarcastic comment I grabbed both of our bags and Alyssa's hand and we left the room we had spent barely any time in.

Meeting the eerily calm Skip in the dining room I was still apprehensive of his apparently chipper mood. Maybe giving me the silent treatment was the only punishment for keeping Alyssa out all night. Possibly, though I highly doubted it, he had simply accepted that she was old enough to be trusted. While both of these options sounded great I doubted either was true.

I held a chair out for Alyssa at the table where Skip was already eating. His meal was almost completely gone by the time we got there. Alyssa was starting to look over the menu and handed me one at the same time. We were both absorbed in deciding what to eat when Skip poignantly cleared his throat to gather our attention.

"Well, I'm just about done her. I think I'll just wait in the lobby for you honey." Before he could stand up and make his quick escape Alyssa stopped him.

"Daddy wait, are you okay? I don't want you to be upset or anything."

"Are you alright Alyssa?" He asked with composed distance.

"Yes daddy. I'm wonderful." She was clearly confused by the question.

"You being okay is, really all I can ask for. I had a lot of time to think about this last night and I realized some things. By no means am I happy about what happened last night and I certainly don't approve but I'm not going to lose you over this."

"Daddy no" Alyssa looked like she was about to cry. There was nothing I could do about it, this was between her and Skip and it would just make it more difficult for both of them if I stepped into the middle of it. She started to stand up and her dad gathered her into a hug while she spoke to him in a low voice. "I love you dad. Nothing happened last night I swear. We were just talking. I'm sorry if you worried."

"I believe you. I just don't want you to get hurt." She slowly broke away from their hug so she could look him in the eye.

"Dad, I know you're worried, but you don't need to be. I trust him. He's not going to hurt me. _Please _trust him, for me."

"I'll try." Skip looked at me for the first time that day gave me a sheepish smirk and looked back to Alyssa. "Well, you kids get somethin' to eat. Take your time we'll leave when you're ready." He walked out of the dining room to the lobby leaving Alyssa and I to eat alone.

We met back up with Skip in the lobby so we could get on the road. According to plan we were going to drive straight through to Seattle. The three of us were to share driving responsibilities; taking shifts so we could sleep in the car while still getting closer to home. We were all going to stay the night in Alyssa's new place when we got to her school. She was going to be living in an on-campus loft apartment so it would be easy for all three of us to stay. The next morning Skip was going to head toward Oregon and drop Alyssa and me off in Olympia on his way where Sam would pick us up.

Less than an hour into the drive Alyssa was asleep. She had curled up as much as possible from her seat between Skip and me and was leaning against my side. She was exhausted from not getting any sleep the night before and slipped into a deep sleep despite the uncomfortable arrangement. Once she was thoroughly asleep Skip started to talk to me freely.

"So. . .excited to go home?" It was obvious that he didn't actually want to be talking to me and was only doing it for Alyssa's sake. That was fine with me as long as I was given the shot to show him that I was a good guy.

"Yeah, it'll be nice to my dad and friends again. Plus I'm really excited to introduce them to Alyssa." I carefully observed his reaction. I could only recognize a slight tensing, other than that he didn't seem bothered.

"Hmm, what are you two planning on doing in . . . La Push is it?"

"Oh nothing too fancy, I'm taking her to a bonfire with my friends and the tribal elders and over to some friends houses, maybe do some swimming if it's warm enough."

"Tribal elders? That sounds pretty serious. Is it normal for the elders to go to bonfires with teenagers?" He sounded slightly skeptical of the innocence of our bonfires.

"Naw, hanging out with the elders isn't that big of deal. The elders actually consists my dad and some of his friends."

"So your dad is a tribal elder? That's impressive. I suppose that means you'll have to stay in La Push when you are done with school?" I was starting to understand the petrified look you see in movies when guys 'meet the parents'. Skip was in full on interrogation mode.

"My dad wouldn't make me stay but I really do love where I come from so who knows. I might end up there forever." Truth was that I knew the chances were in favor of me staying in La Push for the rest of my life. The whole me living to protect the tribe thing, probably had something to do with that choice but I couldn't really tell Skip that.

After a few hour of grilling me Alyssa started to stir and Skip conveniently slipped back into is quiet mood. I had never been so relieved to see Alyssa's beautiful blue eyes than I was in that car. Skip had asked me about my parents and sisters, about my schooling, what kind of car I drove, and even my 'plans for the future'. It was beyond awkward.

Once she woke up Alyssa was in a much better mood and was back to her bubbly self after her much needed nap. We decided that we would switch drivers during the next gas stop. I was going to be taking the next shift while Skip took a break.

Alyssa tried to get me to sleep for awhile but it didn't exactly sound appealing to me to cuddle up to Skip for a good nap. No thanks; I would wait until I could lean up against the door with a beautiful girl at my side to sleep. It happened to work out that Alyssa never drove actually. It's not that she was a bad driver or anything like that I think the reasoning behind it from both of our perspectives what that she made an impeccable buffer between Skip and me. After the first few shifts Alyssa gave up asking and stayed content in the middle seat of the truck.

After about four driving shifts we were at the border. It was early in the morning, the sun hadn't risen yet and there wasn't a long line. We pulled up to the booth with the large balding man who obviously hated his job.

"Welcome to the United States of America. Are you citizens or visiting?" Skip took over talking and we showed him our licenses as proof. He unenthusiastically told us to have a good day and we were on the road again. We stopped at the next truck stopped to grab something to eat. Alyssa had just woken up and I had slept during my last break so both of us were wide awake. After we were done eating Skip went to use the restroom and take a quick shower. They had pay showers for the truck drivers. It was the first time Alyssa and I had been alone for any amount of time since we left.

"So, now that you've had time to let everything sink in, what do you think?"

Looking generally confused by my question she replied "Think about what?"

"Really?' Had she forgotten about the whole 'your boyfriend is a werewolf' thing? Maybe she thought it was all an odd dream. I hoped that wasn't the case. I definitely didn't want to be forced into explaining in all again. "You know the whole I'm a werewolf business?"

"I thought we determined the night before last that I was okay with all this."

"We did but you've had a lot of time to think about it and I just didn't know if you changed your mind."

She reached across the obnoxious red table to take my hands in hers as best she could. "Jacob, please listen carefully to me when I say this. I am not going to change my mind about you. Stop waiting for me to decide one minute to start screaming and run away from you. It's not going to happen and I don't want you to waste the time focusing on it. Of course I've been thinking about it. I have a few questions but . . . it's nothing to worry about. I promise."

I let out the breath that I didn't know I was holding inside. She was still okay with everything, that's all I could really ever want. I quickly thought about all of the things I had explained. I didn't think I had left anything out so it made me wonder what questions she had come up with. "Well what are your questions? Maybe I can answer some of them before your dad gets back."

A blush immediately swelled across her face and she gazed at our adjoined hands. "You said that you weren't the first one to imprint. That Sam and couple others did too, right?" I nodded unsure where she was going with this. She continued. "Well, do they know about all this? Am _I _allowed to know all of this? I don't want you to get in trouble for me."

"Yes, all the imprints know what we are, well except Claire, but that's just because Quil hasn't told her yet."

"Alright, but all the other girls are Quileute right? I mean I'm not exactly a Native American over here. Is everyone going to be okay with me knowing about this?"

"Of course you're allowed to know. You're my world; there was no way I wasn't going to be honest with you. They won't care if you're not Quileute. Emily and Claire are actually from the Makah reservation. Kim's the only imprint who is pure Quileute. I promise they'll love you."

Skip was just walking back towards the table and Alyssa gave my hand a gentle squeeze before letting go.

"Are we ready to get back on the road?" Skip had relaxed after being trapped in the car together for the long car ride and was being incredibly pleasant to me now. We were only two hours away from Seattle at that point and by the time we got there it was around eight o'clock and her apartment was ready to move into.

After signing in with the new students' office and getting her keys Alyssa ran up to the apartment. She was so excited to see her new place. Skip was right behind her and I was pulling the caboose. Once we made it into the loft style apartment Alyssa was glowing. Her smile took up her entire face and she spun around the room with her arms stretched out at her sides. After a few minutes of vigorously hugging Skip and me Alyssa finally found her ability to speak coherent words again instead of the girlish squeals she had been expressing before.

"Do you like it Daddy?" She was still beaming.

In a very fatherly manner, Skip had checked the windows and fixtures before giving his enthusiastic "Its great baby. I think you'll be happy here."

"What do you think Jake?" She looked at me for my reaction to her new place. I was completely mixed on the issue. The studio was really nice and I knew that she would be happy there but it was pretty far from La Push which wasn't something I was looking forward to dealing with. If this was something that made her happy it was something that would make me happy, even if it was also a hardship for me personally.

I put on my best supportive smile and nodded my head. "It's great hon. Where do we need to go to get your stuff?" My comment sent Alyssa into another fit of excitement at the thought of _decorating_ her new place.

We spent the rest of that day moving her belongings into her apartment and buying the things she didn't already have. It wasn't hard to move her in. Most of her belongings I could have carried by myself but since Skip were there I had to play down the strength and accept help when he offered it. I was pretty frustrated with the normal act by time we were done.

The realization that I would be seeing my dad and pack the next day hit me when we lay down to go to sleep that night. A hundred different emotions flooded me at once, frustration with Skip, relief, joy, anxiousness, above the rest there was nervousness. I knew the guys wanted me to come home and I was positive they would love Alyssa but I was selfish and had abandoned them. I was irresponsible, pigheaded, and stupid. The more I thought about how horrible I was for leaving La Push and the pack the more I became thankful for Sam. It was a good thing we had him; he deserved to be alpha. I wasn't mature enough for that responsibility yet. I may someday in the future but not today.

- - -

_Review, it really tends to make me update more. I enabled anonymous reviews so Review, Review, Review._

_Thank you for your patients with this chapter. I'm still not happy with it but I needed to get through this stuff so I could get to Alyssa meeting the pack . . . That's coming up next. _


	11. Declaration and Dedication

_I do not own Twilight, Stephenie Meyer does._

- - -

The plan was to meet Sam at a specific gas station in Olympia at noon. We pulled into a parking spot at a quarter to twelve leaving us with about fifteen minutes for goodbyes before Sam showed up. Alyssa, Skip, and I were standing outside the truck talking on the sidewalk while we waited. Alyssa was giving her dad yet another hug when I noticed the familiar oversized black SUV pull into the lot. There were two people in the car but because of the glare on the windshield I couldn't tell who the second person was. I nudged an emotional Alyssa and pointed toward the car.

"Hey, that's Sam." I waved to him and he parked next to the blue truck. When they were completely stopped I could see that the mystery passenger was Emily. She was wearing a bright smile and as soon as Sam stopped the car she was jumping out and running up to me.

"Jake!" She yelled while grabbed me around the waist in a hug that would have probably hurt a normal person

"Wow, did ya miss me Emily?" I laughed and hugged her back.

"We_ all_ missed you." She playfully punched me in the arm as she continued. "Don't you _ever_ do _anything_ like that to us again." Even though she said it in a teasing way I knew deep down she was dead serious. If I pulled another running away stunt I would have an angry Emily Young to deal with.

"I couldn't even if I tried. That reminds me, this is my girlfriend Alyssa and her father Skip." I let go of Emily and walked over to where Alyssa and Skip were standing and pulled her into my side. "Alyssa, Skip, this is Sam and Emily, my friends from back home."

With one arm around Emily and the other extended toward Skip for a handshake Sam spoke for the first time. "Nice to meet you, like Jake said, I'm Sam Uley." They shook hands and then Sam stuck his hand out to Alyssa.

I had told her before that being big was apart of being a werewolf but I don't think she remembered that because she looked a little taken aback by Sam's size. She timidly shook Sam's hand and said "It's really nice to finally meet both of you. Jake talks about you all the time." Sam and Emily just smiled at her and gave her and Skip some space to say their goodbyes.

Hugging him one last time Alyssa was almost in tears. "Bye daddy, I'm gonna miss you so much."

"I'll miss you too hon. Don't worry about your old man, I'll be fine. I'm going to go visit your nana for awhile, that should keep me out of trouble." He was smiling. You could tell that he was trying to stay tough to keep face.

"I'll be okay too. I'll call you all time, I swear."

"Okay, study hard."

"I will." The broke out of their hug and Skip turned his attention toward me.

"Jake, it was really nice to meet you. You were a big help up at the inn this summer, thank you."

"No, Thank you, Skip, you help so much this summer I don't know how to repay you." He stood there thinking for a minute then looked at me and smiled.

"You can repay me, Jake." I was intrigued; I definitely wanted to know where this was leading. He stuck his hand out for me to shake and smirked. "Take care of my little girl for me. We'll call it even."

The goofy grin spread across my face again and I nodded. "I'd love to Skip. Thanks again."

With that Skip went to hop into his truck. His window was rolled down and he bent out and told Alyssa to call him when she starts classes then he pulled out of his spot. Alyssa had silent tears trailing down her cheeks as she watched her dad drive away and she was leaning into my side. I kissed the tear off of her cheek and she looked up at me with a small smile.

"You ready sweetie?"

"Yeah" she said, whispering so low that only I could hear she said "let's go meet your pack." I could tell she was still nervous so I gave her hand a gentle squeeze walked toward the car.

We piled into the SUV and were on our way to La Push. For the first twenty minutes or so we sat in an awkward silence. I held Alyssa's hand the entire time, trying to wordlessly reassure her, but it wasn't working too well. I didn't understand why everyone was so tense. I figured that small talk might break the ice.

"So Emily, is everyone excited for the bonfire tonight?"

"Oh yeah, but you know the guys. Any excuse to pig out is golden with them." Emily even seemed a bit uptight. At first the thought came into my head that she was upset with me for my disappearing act. There was no doubt that I deserved it. I was thinking and worrying about that idea when it hit me. I hadn't phased since I was with Seth and during my phone calls to Sam I had forgotten to tell him that Alyssa knew everything. They weren't mad at me; they were worried about saying too much or at least I hope it was that instead of continued discomfort because of me.

"So, my plans for tonight sort of changed." As I spoke I broke through the tension and Sam warily eyed me through the rear view mirror.

"What do you mean?"

"Don't worry, it's a good thing. I forgot to tell you when I called. I told Alyssa everything already. I slipped about the pack and then I couldn't exactly lie to her after that. You understand Sam."

I glanced over to Alyssa to see nervousness and apprehension coating her delicate features. She was still worried about how they were going to react to her. I started to rub soothing circles on her hand with my thumb as Sam and Emily took everything in.

At first the only reaction from the front seat was a sigh of relief from Emily. "Thank goodness, I was terrified that _I_ was going to be the one to spill the beans."

Sam visibly relaxed and looked at me through the mirror again. "Everything?"

"Everything Sam, no secrets" as I told him this I looked over to Alyssa with a smile and kissed the hand that was conjoined with mine. In turn she blushed and smiled over at me.

After that announcement was made conversation was flowed easily and everyone was more comfortable. Alyssa and Emily seemed to be getting along really well. It made me feel much better to know that she would have a friendly face other than me to look toward tonight if she was feeling less than comfortable.

We made it back to La Push around four. Emily still had some last minute things to get done before the bonfire. Everyone was meeting at on the cliff at around six-thirty. Sam was slowly driving down the road into La Push; we were nearing my dad's house when Sam asked me where we wanted to go first.

"I think we'll go to my house. See dad before everyone else."

"Alright, we'll drop you off. You'll bring your dad up with you?" We were just pulling up to the house and I suddenly was extremely anxious. I was just hoping my dad would accept me back like Sam and Emily seemed to.

"Yeah, see ya at six-thirty." Alyssa and I hopped out of the SUV and I pulled my belongings and her small duffel bag out of the back.

Sam and Emily backed out of the driveway and headed toward their house while we stood in the driveway. I was restless to see my dad again; I had missed him so much when I was gone but I didn't want to see the disappointed look that I knew I deserved. After a minute of just staring at the building I had called home for the last seventeen years Alyssa snaked her arm around my waist and looked at me.

"I'll be right here the whole time. I know I'm not a big strong werewolf but I'm here to protect you too. Don't worry; your dad loves you." With her words of encouragement we headed toward the house. I wasn't sure if I should knock or just walk in but I didn't really have to decide. As soon as we stepped onto the front porch the door flung open and my dad was sitting in the doorway wearing a face splitting smile.

"Jake! Welcome home son."

"Hi dad." I walked up to my dad and hugged him. He backed up so we could get into the house and we sat down in the living room.

"So who is this?" I was positive that he knew who Alyssa was but he also didn't know that she knew everything already so he was playing dumb.

Surprisingly my quite Alyssa stood up before I could speak. She extended her hand toward my dad. "I'm Alyssa West sir. I'm Jacob's imprint. It's very nice to meet you." Instead of returning the gesture Billy's eyes grew large, his mouth dropped open and his attention snapped to me.

"Oh yeah, and she knows I'm a werewolf." Alyssa and I were laughing hysterically but Billy just shook his head while taking Alyssa's hand.

"Call me Billy. It's great to finally meet you Alyssa. So tell me about yourself."

We spent some time sitting around our living room and talking to my dad. Billy and Alyssa had a chance to get to know each other and I heard about some of the things I had missed while I was away. The disappointed look I had been expecting never seemed to come.

Before we left for the bonfire I showed Alyssa around the house and my garage. "I know it's not big or anywhere as nice as the inn but its home."

"I love it Jake. You wouldn't be you if it wasn't for this place. Nothing could be better than you sharing it with me."

"We have some time before we need to leave. Do you want to walk on the beach for awhile?" She nodded at me so I grabbed her hand in mine and we headed toward the beach. It only took a few minutes for the bitter ocean air to become to cold for Alyssa but she knew exactly how to remedy the problem by that point. She snuggled up to my side, pulling my arms around her. We ended up peacefully sitting on a gigantic rock at the edge of the forest just watching the water. I could have stayed there for the rest of my life. It felt incredibly _right_ to Alyssa with me in La Push. Out of nowhere Alyssa sat up from where she was leaning against me and kissed me on the cheek.

"What was that for? Not that I mind." I asked while chuckling.

She got an introspective smile on her face and looked me directly in the eye. "I love you Jacob Black." I wasn't expecting to hear that from her. Alyssa hadn't said 'I love you' before that and to be honest I wasn't expecting it anytime soon.

"I love you too Alyssa more than you know."

I wrapped her back up into me and kissed her with more zealous than I had before. I felt her pulling herself closer to me and deepening the kiss. It was the most passionate contact we had shared and needless to say I was enjoying myself. We were immersed in our own personal moment in time when I heard someone approach us. I reluctantly pulled away so see who was interrupting us.

There stood the two kings of bad timing. Quil and Embry were a few yards away from our rock, absolutely gleeful. If you didn't know better they could have been mistaken for giddy twelve year old girls. I knew this moment would come up later when we were all on patrol.

"What are you two doing here?" My exasperation was obvious from my voice

"Nice to see you too pal. We've missed you so much." Embry feigned like he was hurt by my lack of greetings as he walked up to us. "Your dad called. It's seven. He thought you left him."

"It's seven?!" Alyssa and I had completely lost track of time. "We should get going then." I helped Alyssa get down from the big rock and started to walk back up to my house.

"Don't worry about your dad. Sam came and got him." Looking at Alyssa now he continued. "By the way I'm Quil and this is Embry friends of your very rude boyfriend." generating a shy smile from Alyssa.

"It's nice to meet you. Jake we should get going if we're already late." We walked back up to the house and drove the rabbit as far as we could before we had to walk to the cliff. Before we broke from the cover of the trees to see everyone Alyssa stopped walking.

"Are you sure they're going to be okay with me?" I leaned over and captured her elegant face in my hands, noiselessly begging her to look me in the eyes

"Honey, I love you. They will love you too. Sam, Emily and my dad are here. You just met Quil and Embry. Almost everyone has already seen you in my head so they probably feel like they know you. You can sit between Emily and me if it makes you feel any better."

"Alright, as long as you stay with me I can do this." I stole a quick kiss and smiled at her.

"You couldn't get rid of me if ya tried. Come on, let's go eat and get a history lesson."

As we broke through the trees to see the guys devouring enough hot dogs and hamburgers to feed a small army; barely anyone noticed us. Normally I would have made some kind of an obnoxious comment to draw their attention but I didn't want to make it worse for Alyssa so we just headed to the opposite side of the bonfire to sit next to Sam and Emily. I made sure to apologize to my dad for being late.

"Sorry we were late dad, we kind of lost track of time."

"Oh don't, worry about it, Embry informed us of your extracurricular activities." My dad commented with knowing smile causing both Alyssa and me to blush a little.

Thankfully Emily saved us by speaking over the laughter at our expense. "So Alyssa, are you hungry? There's still plenty of food. _If _you get there before Jake that is."

"Actually I am pretty hungry." Emily, Kim, and Alyssa got up to get something to eat. I was prepared to follow and get some food of my own when Alyssa smiled at me and let go of my hand. "Stay catch up with your friends."

I was so proud of her at that moment. She had been terrified of meeting everyone for days but was making a sincere effort to make friends with the people important to me. There no way I deserve the amazing woman who stood in front of me.

The girls were talking at the food tent and I was catching up with the guys. For the most part it was Quil and Embry making fun of me for what they walked in on earlier. They were nice enough to take a small break from teasing me when Alyssa came over to give me a dozen hotdogs but as soon as she walked away again they started right back up where they left off. Eventually Billy and old Quil started to sit up straighter and they cleared their throats to get everyone's attention. Jared and me got up and ran over to the ladies so they wouldn't miss the legends.

I wrapped my arms around Alyssa and whispered in her ear. "They're about to start. We should grab our seat."

Alyssa was sitting burrowed into my side to keep warm listening intently to every word that was spoken. I knew she must have been exhausted. We had been awake since early that morning and hadn't really had a chance to just stop and relax. To my pleasant surprise Alyssa was still awake when Quil finished the last legend.

I leaned down to whisper quiet enough so nobody else would hear. "Did you like them?"

"Yeah, you were right."

"I usually am. What was I right about this time?"

"Your dad does tell those legends, about a thousand times better than you." I couldn't help but laugh at her cheeky grin. We listened to the light banter that and joked around with everyone until Alyssa started to slump over where she was sitting. I figured it was time to get her home so I picked her up in my arms only to have her eyes fly open in surprise.

"Wha . . . What's going on?"

"Shhh, nothing you were falling asleep so I decided to take you home."

"Did you thank Emily for me?"

"Yeah, let's get you home." I had to smile at how well everything had gone. As predicted they would, everyone seemed to love Alyssa and she seemed to like them as well. I was grinning the whole way home.

Billy had caught a ride home with old Quil and Sam earlier in the night so he was asleep by the time we got there. I wasn't really sure what the sleeping arrangements would be so I went to put Alyssa in my room. I would put her in Rebecca and Rachel's old room but since they moved out it got turned into a storage area. I decided that I would sleep on the couch and let her have the comfortable bed.

Once we got home and I carried her into my room I put her down on the bed and handed her the duffel bag with her clothes. "Baby, here's your bag. How about you change into some pajamas? I'll come back in a few minutes." I left her to get dressed while I went to the closet for some extra blankets, I didn't generally use them but I was guessing that Alyssa would.

When I made it back to my room Alyssa was changed and curled up into a ball on my bed. "Here I got you some blankets. The bathroom is right across the hall. I'll be in the living room if you need me." For the first time since we left the fire she showed signs of hearing me. Sitting straight up on the bed and opening her eyes she started to whimpered.

"I can't take your bed. No, no I'll sleep on the couch."

"Absolutely not, you stay here. The couch is fine for me."

"You wouldn't even fit on a couch Jake. How about we compromise?" I just laughed and shook my head at her insane stubbornness.

"You know you're pretty awake for someone who was practically in a coma two minutes ago. Alright what's your _compromise_?"

Never shifting her gaze away from my face she answered. "Stay with me. That way we both get our way."

She really wanted me to stay? I had to admit Alyssa was full of surprised today. We hadn't slept in such close proximity of each other without Skip watching over us like a hawk. On the other hand I'm a seventeen year old guy and there wasn't much that sounded better than sleeping with the most beautiful woman I've ever seen.

"Okay, I can live with that. I'm going to go change. I'll be right back." By the time I got back Alyssa was almost completely asleep I moved her over so there was enough room for me and fell into the best sleep I had had in months.

- - -

I was jolted into alertness the next morning by a startled screech from Alyssa. Apparently ten o'clock was far too late for us to be sleeping in and Paul felt it was his place to wake us. When he slammed the door open it had scared Alyssa causing her to scream, it hadn't fazed me but her terror was enough to wake me up. Once I realized it was Paul and that Alyssa wasn't in any danger I was just annoyed with his raucous entrance.

"What the hell was that for Paul?!"

It seemed that Paul found my terrified girlfriend hilarious. The longer he stood in the doorframe of my bedroom laughing the angrier I got. Before I realized what was happening I started to shake uncontrollably. In his first smart move of the morning Paul ripped Alyssa out of the bed and pushed her into the hallway.

"Calm down man, you don't want to do this, you could hurt her."

Paul started to walk toward me so he could pull me out of the house before I caused too much damage. As soon as he was out of the doorway I got a glimpse of a hysterical Alyssa kneeling next to Billy in the hallway. I was scaring her. I took a few deep breaths to calm my angered system. Paul put a firm hand on my shoulder.

"Are you going to be okay man? I really didn't think that would scare her. I'm sorry." For the first time since I met Paul he looked truly remorseful.

"Yeah, I'm okay now." I said. I slowly got out of bed and started to walk toward where Alyssa and my dad were waiting in the hall. Billy was trying to assure her that everything was okay but she wasn't really paying attention to him. Her tears were flowing at an astonishingly quick rate. I wanted to snatch her up in my arms and make her feel safe but I was afraid it would scare her more. I slowly approached the two of them.

"Alyssa, sweetie, are you okay?" She apprehensively looked up at me her tears slowing. "I'm not going to hurt you honey. Paul just upset me, I'm okay now. You're safe, I _swear_ to you." She still didn't say anything.

I hated myself in that moment. Not only had I almost phased in front of Alyssa but now she was afraid and it was all, my fault. I tried not to focus on how mad I was at myself just incase it set me off again. I had always been good with my control and I wasn't about to break that streak now that I had Alyssa. I wouldn't—I couldn't—do that to her. She was too important.

Before long Paul came out of my room and knelt down next to Alyssa. At first I tensed at the thought that he had been the one to originally scare her. But then I remembered the obvious fact that Paul would never do anything in intentionally hurt someone. He may have one hell of a temper on him, but he was my brother and I trusted him.

"I'm really sorry I startled you Alyssa. Jake was mad at me. None of this is your fault." For once Paul's words seemed to be remedying the situation instead of escalating it. With his encouragement Alyssa looked up to me and jumped up from her spot on the floor. She threw her arms around my neck and started sobbing into my chest.

"I—I—I was so scared." I pulled her closer to her to support her shaking frame "I thought you were hurt." Her body shook with each new sob. "I'm sorry I scared you." She looked up to me with tear streaked cheeks. I pulled her up to kiss her forehead.

"No, Alyssa this isn't your fault _at all_. This was all me." I tried to make her believe me but I didn't know if it was working. "I'm alright now. Everything's going to be okay." After I held her for an immeasurable amount of time her body became still again and her crying quieted to the point that I thought that she might have fallen asleep. I pulled her ever so slightly away from my body so I could see her face. She looked peaceful and slightly embarrassed. "Are we okay now?" I whispered in her ear.

She nodded her head before leaning it back onto my chest. "Jacob, do you think I could see you as a wolf? I'm pretty curious now."

I stiffened as soon as she said the words. I would love to share that with Alyssa but I didn't know if it was the best time for that. She had just been hysterical at prospect of me phasing, though her fears were warranted in that moment. I didn't know how she would handle seeing me as the giant beast I was.

Pulling her away so I could see her reaction I asked. "Are you sure you want to see that. I'll shake just like I did before."

"I guessed that. I'm not scared of you, Jake. I was just caught by surprise. I think if I saw what the outcome of you shaking was I would be able better gage my reaction when you do that."

Once again immense pride bubbled up in me for how wonderful Alyssa was. She was going to be with me presumably for the rest of forever and she wanted to be prepared to see every side of me. I couldn't love her anymore than I did at that moment, though I have been thinking that quite a bit lately.

"If this is something that you are sure you want to do then, yes, I'll show you. I would prefer if we weren't alone though. That's a deal breaker. I want at least one person from the pack there when I show you. Okay?"

"That's fine. Would you mind if Emily or Kim were with me too? They've been there. I think they can help me understand."

"Emily? Yeah, we can probably do that. How about you go shower and get ready; I'll be in the living room waiting for you."

"Alright, I'll be out as soon as I can."

Alyssa was in the bathroom getting ready while I waited for her in the living room. Paul decided to take off since we would see him at Emily's house later. My dad made sure that Alyssa was okay and then Sue Clearwater picked him up, they were going to Port Angeles for the day. Alyssa came out when she was ready. She was smiling again and looked relaxed.

The drive to Emily's house was quiet. I wasn't sure if Alyssa was upset with me or not and I didn't want to push her if she was afraid of me. I was completely lost as to how she was feeling and didn't know how to act toward her at the moment. We pulled into the gravel driveway of Emily's small house and I opened the door for Alyssa. I had mentally prepared myself to sustain a no contact existence for the rest of the day. When Alyssa was out of the car she grabbed my hand tugged me to a stop and looked up at me.

"Get over yourself Jake. I'm okay; I'm not going to lie you scared the hell out of me but I'm over it. You warned me that all of this was apart of being with you. I just need prepare myself for it. This is apart of you, and I love you. So come on wolf boy. It's time for show and tell."

With that she started to walk toward the front door. I was wrong again. At _that _moment I couldn't love her anymore than I already did.

_I like this chapter review and let me know if you do too. Reviewers will get a special glimpse at what's going on in Alyssa's head during this chapter as a review reply. There is so much that goes on with her during their first day in La Push that she needed a space to let it all out. _


	12. An Eye Opening Experience

I don't own Twilight

_I don't own Twilight. DeviLISH-innocence, Dances With Werewolves, and kimmygirl00nichole thank you so much for the reviews. They mean the world to me. I hope you enjoyed the extra chapter. _

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It was decided that Emily, Kim, Jared, and Sam would be there when I showed Alyssa my wolf form. This was determined after much deliberation. Since both Kim and Emily were at the house when we got there Alyssa asked both of them to be there with her and of course Sam and Jared wanted to be there so they were close to there perspective girlfriend or fiancé in Emily's case.

It happened to be one of the rare occasions when the Uley, Young house was virtually empty. There was no time like the present so the six of us went into the backyard. The back of Emily's house was surrounded by forest so it was the perfect place to phase without having to worry about neighbors seeing me.

As soon as we were on the back deck I pulled Alyssa into a tight hug. "Alright sweetie, I'm going to go into the forest just a little bit and then I'll phase. I'll come back out here and lay down. If you want, you can come over to me, but if you don't I'll understand that too, okay?"

She looked completely terrified; I didn't want her to be nervous about this. There was no way that I would hurt her. I knew that before I even agreed to her seeing me in my wolf form. Having Sam and Jared there was even more back up to make sure that Alyssa was going to be safe during this. As far as I was concerned she didn't have to do this but it was important to her. Emily was able to see the apprehension in Alyssa's eyes and came over to talk to her.

"You're scared." It wasn't a question. Alyssa looked down at the ground and nodded her head. She almost looked ashamed that she was frightened. "Don't feel bad about being afraid. This is a big thing to deal with. All of us are here for you. Nothing bad is going to happen. If you want you can stand right between Sam and Jared. They won't let anything happen to you." At that suggestion Alyssa's head shot up; she was flabbergasted by something that Emily had suggested.

"Do you think I'm scared of Jake?"

"Its okay honey, we would understand if you're a little scared of this right now."

"No, no, no, you don't understand. I know Jacob won't hurt me." She stepped closer to me and wrapped her arms around my waist, looking back to Emily. "I just don't know how I'm going to react to this and I don't want to do anything embarrassing."

The five of us let that settle in for a moment and then we couldn't hold it in. We burst into a fit of laughter. At first Alyssa burrowed her head into my chest until I stopped laughing. She sheepishly looked up at me. I gently clutched her face in my hands so she couldn't look away.

"I'm sorry, we laughed at you. It wasn't funny. . . Okay yes it was but, it's just 'cause I'm not expecting you to react in any specific way. Hell, I'm not even expecting you to do this at all. This is about what you want . . . Are you sure you want me to go phase?"

Without hesitation she nodded her head. "Yes, I told you its show and tell day. Now go. I'll be fine here." I trusted her words so I stole one last innocent kiss and jogged off into the surrounding trees.

I stopped when I was about twenty feet into the wooded area. I yelled in the direction of the back yard to make sure everyone was ready. When I heard Sam yell an affirmative response I changed out of my clothes and phased. I slowly crept in the direction of Emily's back yard until I could see Alyssa standing between Emily and Kim securely holding one of their hands in each of hers.

When I was hidden by the last shreds of foliage I let out a questioning whimper that I knew Sam and Jared would hear. Jared started to shake his head and laugh.

"_Yes_, Jake, She's ready, just get your ass out here." I didn't really find my nervousness funny but apparently my friends did.

My worry was taken away quickly enough when Alyssa spoke. "I'm ready sweetie, please come out. I swear I'm not scared." I took one last deep breath and stepped out of the safe cover of the forest.

I slowly walked toward the middle of the yard and laid down facing everyone. Alyssa's initial reaction was a sharp intake of breath. I didn't necessarily like that reaction; it didn't tell me how she was feeling. Was she afraid of me now? I didn't have to worry for long because in only a handful of seconds Alyssa was letting go of the girls' hands and slowly took a step in my direction. She stopped after a few steps, she looked hesitant.

"Can I come over there?" I let out a coughing laugh and tried to indicate yes with a low rumble in my chest. She didn't seem to understand so I nodded toward Sam.

"Yes Alyssa, of course you can go up to him." A small smile crossed her face and she started to slowly walk up to me. I was anxious for her to be near me but I didn't dare to move closer to her. This was all about her being comfortable.

After what seemed like en eternity the space between Alyssa and me was down to about a foot. I slowly brought me head up from where it was resting on my paws and nuzzled her waiting hand. I heard a quick intake of breath and looked up to make sure she was okay.

What I saw when I looked at her face could have made my heart burst at the seams. Alyssa face was alight with what can only be described as wonder. For a second I contemplated if this is the look she sees on my face when I'm staring at her but her sweet voice brought me out of my thoughts.

"You're soft." giggling softly "I wasn't expecting that." She was staring at me running her fragile fingers through my fur for quite a while when I heard Sam clearing his throat. Alyssa jumped a little and I reluctantly pulled my head up so I could look at them.

"You guys are more than welcome to stay out here. Would it be alright with you if we go inside now?" Alyssa blushed and nodded her head.

"Yeah, we'll come inside in a little while." She answered

Emily and Kim looked overjoyed. Sam and Jared looked relieved. After looking up into Sam's eyes, Emily commented "Take your time honey, we understand." And the four of them turned toward the house and disappeared through the back door.

Once they were out of sight Alyssa turned back toward me and smiled. "I forgot they were here . . . That was a little embarrassing." I shook my head hoping she took that as a negative response. She just laughed again and took a seat on the ground in front of me.

It wasn't the warmest of days and Alyssa wasn't wearing a jacket so I looked into her eyes and slowly moved so she could lean into my warmth. After sitting for awhile in companionable silence Alyssa pulled her hand out of my fur and pulled on my muzzle so I was looking at her.

"You're beautiful you know." I just laughed at her statement. Then she got a triumphant smile on her face. "You know, I like this. A quiet Jacob Black, who knew that, existed?"

We sat in the back yard quietly just enjoying being near each other until Quil's frazzled thoughts gushed into my mind, crashing violently into my peaceful mentality.

_Way too close, Jake I was hoping someone was out. Listen I was driving back from seeing Claire. I was just about to cross the border and I smelled one. There's a leech by the rez. _

I automatically stiffening at the thought of a vampire being on our land I stepped away from Alyssa. _Shit. Okay I'm at Sam's we'll come look_. I let out a loud howl to get everyone's attention.

I only had to wait a second or two for Jared Sam and Embry—who must have showed up sometime while we were outside—to tear through the door, Emily not far behind them. They got a one quick look at me and the next thing I know Jared and Embry were sprinting toward the forest's edge. Sam ran toward a horrified Alyssa and picked her up off of the lawn and carrying her to the back deck.

"Everything's okay. Emily, take her inside. We'll be back soon."

Then he was running toward the forest too. It took everything ounce of the strength inside of me to rip my eyes away from my angel and follow Sam.

By this time the entire pack, except for Leah who was in Port Angeles at the time, was in wolf form. Sam started to call out orders.

_Collin, I want you at my house, all the girls are there, Seth Embry you two head toward the beach Paul Brady head toward the school. The rest of you head toward the border Jake you're with Quil. Jared, stay with me. _

As everyone ran toward their assignments thoughts were frenzied. I couldn't stop thinking about Alyssa and silently praying she was okay. Jared had the same thoughts running through his head about Kim and Quil was thinking how glad he was that Claire was safe in Neah Bay. Sam broke through our thoughts forcing us to focus on what we were doing. _I know you're worried. I'm worried about Emily too but the only way to make them safe is to concentrate. _

Quil was south in the forest near the highway but I caught a fresh trail before I caught up to him.

As Quil rushed toward where I caught the trail Sam and Jared caught sight of the vampire and charged toward it. The bloodsucker definitely wasn't expecting any of us to catch him because he was caught completely off guard when Sam pounced on him from behind. Between Jared and Sam the parasite was quickly taken down and nobody could smell another one in the area.

Quil called out a well deserved _nice job _followed closely by everyone else's congratulations.

Once the smoke was visible in the sky Sam started hurling orders again. _Collin phase real quick and tell the girls we're fine and we'll be there soon. Wait for us there. Embry Brady, you're on patrol; run the borders. Make sure he was alone. Everyone else get to my house we'll set up a patrol schedule._

Embry and Brady were running through the woods while the six remaining wolves bolted in the direction of Sam's house. Jared, Sam and I pulled ahead of the rest of the guys. When the house was in view I phased and changed back into the clothes that I left on the forest's edge.

Hurrying toward the back door I stormed into the house to find Emily, Kim, Collin, and an emotional Alyssa sitting in the living room. The second I appeared in the room Alyssa jumped out of her seat on the couch and ran into my open arms.

"Oh, Jake, I was so scared. Emily said there was a vampire. Are you okay?" She pulled herself away from me and started to look for any visible injuries.

"I'm fine. Sam and Jared got him." I looked up to see Kim and Emily in similar embraces as everyone else gathered around the dining room table. "Are you okay? I'm so sorry I didn't get a chance to explain. You must have been really freaked out."

"I was just worried about you." She stood on her tip toes in an attempt to kiss me but that still didn't make her tall enough. I easily lifted her off the floor so she could reach my lips. After a brief kiss she pulled away and smiled at me.

"Don't worry about me. I'm fine. This is what I do. I was just worried about you."

She got the cutest expression on her face. Her little nose scrunched up and her eyes squinted. "Huh? Collin was here, I was okay."

"I know but I pretty much worry about you anytime you're not in my arms." I smirked at her and leaned over for another kiss. We stayed that way until I heard not so subtle gagging noises from behind me. I pulled away and without even looking I called out the typical response to such immature antics. "Shut it Call."

Putting my angel back on her feet we went to meet the rest of the guys in the kitchen where they were eating cookies and talking about who was going to take what patrol times.

"Alright guys, we're going to run full patrols for awhile. Just to make sure that leech doesn't have any friends. You guys start school next week; everything should be back to normal by then."

"I bet they just smelled the Cullens. I'm sure after awhile we won't have any problems." Jared noted while throwing me a sympathetic look. I just shrugged my shoulders and turned my attention back to Alyssa's face.

"I think Leah should take the night patrol since she got out of today." Seth whined from the opposite end of the table. Obviously he was still holding a grudge against her for withholding information about my imprint. It was funny to me though.

"I think that's fair who wants to run with her? Jared you're off; you can have a morning shift." Sam asked the group

Alyssa was perched on my lap and my arms were wrapped around her waste. I knew that I should run the crappy shift since I've been shirking on my responsibilities, for the past couple of months but I hated to leave Alyssa alone.

"I'll run with Leah." All eyes slowly turned to focus on me, all with incredulity dripping from their faces.

"_You _are _volunteering _to run with Leah, Leah Clearwater? Do I have to remind you how much you hate Leah?"

"She's not that bad, Embry. Plus you can think of this as my penance, for ditching the pack." All faces got somber and Sam nodded his head.

"Okay, Jake you run tonight's shift with Leah." Sam said with an encouraging nod in my direction.

We figured out the rest of the schedule then Emily went into the kitchen and started making dinner. It didn't take long for Alyssa to get bored enough with our stupid banter to leave the table and help Emily. When dinner was ready they carried out huge platters of food and then went back into the kitchen with Kim so they could eat without loosing an arm.

When we were done eating everyone went their separate ways. Seth went home to tell Leah she had to patrol. Jared took Kim home, and the rest of the guys left too. I went into the kitchen to get Alyssa so we could head back to my house for a few hours before I had patrol. When I approached the girls they were at the end of what seemed like an important conversation.

". . . not sure what he'll say but I know I'd feel better. I'll talk to him." Alyssa noticed me and smiled. "Hey Jake, you ready to go?"

"Yeah, are you?"

She nodded her head walked over to me grabbing my hand. "mhmm," looking back to where Emily was still standing by the sink, "I'll call you later Emily."

With that we left, driving toward my house in comfortable silence. We reached my house and I was about to get out of the car when Alyssa stopped me.

"Jake, can we talk real quick?"

I'm not going to lie I was petrified. There was so much that happened in the past two days that I wasn't surprised that Alyssa wanted to talk but that didn't eliminate the fear burning deep within me that this discussion could lead to her leaving. _'I'm sorry Jake; I don't think I'm going to be able to do this. I thought I was going to be fine with it but . . . I can't love a monster.'_ She was going to realize how much staying with a werewolf would affect her life and leave to find a simpler existence. My thoughts spiraled further into a black hole that I was terrified to fall into. I was quite literally shaken out of my thoughts.

"Jake! Jake?! Are you okay Jake?" Alyssa had a firm grasp of my shoulder and was using all her strength to shake me.

"Wha? Yeah, I'm fine . . . We can talk. Do you want to take a walk?"

"Sure."

We got out of the car and headed in the direction of the beach. Alyssa had held my hand the entire way then pulled me in the direction of the rock we had sat on the night before. We made it to the boulder and Alyssa climbed up and took a seat. I followed suit and sat next to her.

"Are you mad at me?" It came out at barely a whisper and even with my werewolf hearing I could hardly hear her. I had no reason to be mad at her. She phenomenal and beautiful and everything I could ever ask for. She was quite literally more than I deserved.

"No, of course I'm not mad at you sweetie." There was a long pause while I tried to control my raging thoughts. "What did you need to talk about?"

Alyssa looked at me with an unreadable look on her face. "Well we haven't really had an actual conversation since before you phased this morning. I just think there's a lot should talk about everything."

"Yeah, you're right. So, how do you like the wolfy Jake?"

Finally a recognizable expression, the sweet smile I adored pulled on Alyssa's lips. "I love it. You're beautiful. I thought I would be scared, or giggle uncontrollably but even when you're a wolf you're still the Jake I love."

"Good, I was scared that you would realize that I'm a monster and leave, especially after I ran off without a word today. I didn't want to put you in a situation like that. I'm so sorry."

"I'm not going to lie that was scary but once we were in the house and Emily told me what was going on I understood. This is your job… No, that's not the right word. This is your destiny, it's who you are. I know how important protecting your home is to you. This is all apart of you, this place, the people, everything. I'm not running away from it. I _won't_ run from you."

"Really?" She nodded her head at me and leaned into my side a little more. "I honestly couldn't be any happier to hear you say that . . . but the more I think about it the more it sinks in that you deserve so much more than all this Alyssa. I can't offer you all the amazing things you should have out of life, no matter how much I want to."

Looking more forceful than I had ever seen her Alyssa aggressively seized my face in her hands and looked into my eyes. "Do you love me Jacob Black?"

Taken aback by how direct she was being I answered. "Of course I do, with every fiber of my being."

"That's all I need. You are all I will ever need."

Easily lifting her into my lap I started to kiss my stunning angel. Before too long my hands were knotted in her silky hair and hers were resting limp on my chest. I eventually pulled away gasping for air. The sun had begun to set and in the glow of the red sky reflecting off ocean, Alyssa was even more breath taking then usual. I rested my forehead against hers trying to regain normal breathing patterns when she spoke again.

"Jake, I need to ask you something. I don't know if you'll be happy about it."

"o…kay, what is it?" I tried not to get nervous again but with an intro like that I didn't think this would be good in any way.

"Well I was talk to Emily before we left."

"Yeah I noticed that."

"mhmm, and she suggested that I stay at there place. Not that I don't _love_ your house but you're going to be on patrol until late and you said yourself that you worry about me. So maybe we would both feel safer if I was in the house with someone you knew could protect me while you were gone." Her entire proposition flew out of her mouth in a few rushed breaths.

I thought through what she had said and allowed myself time to absorb her words. "You want to stay at Sam's house when I'm on patrol?"

"Essentially that's what I'm saying. I mean Sam said you guys will be doing this until you start school, and I leave for Seattle a few days before that so . . . I guess I'm actually seeing what you would think about me staying there for the rest of this trip."

"You're an adult. You are more than free to make your own decisions, Alyssa."

She blushed instigating my smile as the beautiful pink spread across her cheeks. "I'm well aware that I'm an adult. That was my argument, remember?" She giggled but didn't wait for a response from me. "In reality I asked you because I still don't want to waste any of our time together, since I'll be leaving soon. I know you've been away from home for a really long time but I was wondering if after your rounds were done if you would stay over there with me."

Judging by the look on her face I was guessing that Alyssa was actually worried about how I was going to respond. Was she insane? Maybe I didn't explain this imprinting thing well enough. I would do _anything_ for her and after a prolonged night of patrolling being able to sleep with her in my arms was far from a punishment.

"Of course I'll stay with you. Shoot, I've had seventeen years of sleeping in the same house as Billy, What have I had with you? Not even a month. You win, hands down." I would never get used to the smile that spread across her glorious face.

Sitting on that rock with Alyssa for the rest of my life seemed like a perfectly good idea to me but after awhile she reminded me that I had to run patrol and we still had to get to Emily's house. On our way back to my place to get her things she called Emily and told her that she would be there in a few minutes. Alyssa quickly gathered up her clothes while I wrote a note telling Billy that I had patrol and then set off for Emily and Sam's house.

Pulling into the driveway and parking my rabbit, Alyssa jumped out of the car and started walking toward the house. I caught her before she could make it to the door. It was time for me to take off but I wanted one last minute with her before I was away for her for most of the night. I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her close to me. Letting out a squeak of surprise she looked up at me.

"What was that?"

"It's time for me to go." I tried to hide the sadness in my voice but I knew I wasn't doing a very good job at it.

She gave me my favorite smile and reached up to kiss me. "I'll be fine. Sam will be here all night and you'll be back in no time. Don't lie, you love this stuff. I know you do."

"Yeah, but I love you more." I was kissing her again when I heard the front door open. I broke away to see Sam standing on the front porch with his arms crossed over his chest, an amused smile playing on his usually calm face. "You have places to be Jake. I understand, but she's gonna be fine. I'll leave the back door open for you."

"Thanks Sam." Look at Alyssa one more time "I love you."

"I love you too, now _go_. I'm fine."

I wanted to be able to stay with her all night but I knew that wasn't possible. I had a responsibility to uphold and it was about time I started to take it more seriously. Alyssa would be safe and after patrol I would be able to rest with her securely in my arms. I started to think life was finally going to work out fine for me.

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_Reviews are greatly appreciated. The more reviews I get the more motivated I am to update faster. _


	13. Goodnights and Goodbyes

The next week passed in lurches of speed and lulls in time that seemed to be the exact opposite of how I would want it

_I do not own Twilight. The long delay was due to family reunions, having to spend time at my parent's house, (not an idea way to spend a week if you ask me) and of course the AMAZING release of Breaking Dawn. _

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The next week passed in lurches of time that seemed to be the exact opposite of how I would have wanted it. Time spent with Alyssa went by all too quickly and the instances when I was away from her seemed to drag by impossibly slow. Before I knew it, it was the morning before Alyssa's last day in La Push. She would be leaving for Seattle the next morning and I was still scheduled to have patrol that night so our time seemed especially precious that day.

It didn't take long for me to get used to waking up in Sam and Emily's guest room so by that morning I was totally comfortable.

We had gotten into a flawless routine in the past week. I would get back after patrolling and take a quick shower before crawling into bed with Alyssa. Inevitably she would wakeup and halfheartedly complain about my wet hair until she fell back asleep in my arms. In the morning she would come to life before me and lay in my arms until getting bored then she would leave to take a shower and get ready for the day.

It being Washington Alyssa didn't bring anything but a pair of sweats and a t-shirt to sleep in so halfway through the week she had resorted to wearing a pair of my boxers and one of my old wife-beaters to bed. I definitely didn't mind the practice; in fact I think I might have enjoyed the thought a little too much.

When I felt her shift in the bed, the morning of her last full day in La Push, I knew she was awake and I didn't want to miss a moment of time together. I sat up to see her grabbing her toiletry bag and heading toward the door.

"Morning beautiful" I said in a voice still slowed with sleep.

"Morning," she said as she turned around to look at me. "Shouldn't you still be sleeping. I haven't even begged you to get out of bed for a half hour yet." She smiled at me and walked over to the bed, sitting on the edge.

Taking the opportunity to pull her closer to me I whispered in her ear. "Yeah, but I'll only get the opportunity to see you in this outfit once after today. It would be a shame to miss it." I leaned over so I could kiss her exposed shoulder.

Slapping me on the arm, "Jacob Black, you're a big _perv_!" She was laughing as she said it so I knew she wasn't actually mad at me.

I couldn't help but to laugh at her. "Well if looking at my gorgeous girlfriend makes me a perv, then I could be president of the pervert club."

Shaking her head in mock disappointment Alyssa continued. "Well, at least you're a cute pervert." She kissed my forehead like I was a small child. "I'm going to take a shower. Go back to sleep. I'll wake you up when I'm done."

"Alright, I love you." She left the room and I laid down to get a little more sleep before we started what I was going to make sure was a very special day.

Showered, dressed and fed Alyssa and I were eventually ready to start the day. I had been thinking of ways to make that day special since I didn't know the how long it would be until I would be able to have Alyssa around for an extended amount of time. I had even resorted to asking they guys for help but it turns out that they're even less creative than me. Thankfully though, Emily is always good for a romantic idea. My plans didn't start until about six. So most of the day was open for whatever we wanted to do. I asked Alyssa if there was anything that she wanted to do on her last day here.

"Actually I did want to do something . . . a nature walk."

"You want to go hiking?" I was some what surprised. Hiking didn't exactly seem like a very Alyssa thing to do but if that's what she wanted to do, it sounded fine to me.

"Yeah, everything around here is so beautiful and I doubt I'll get much foresty goodness while living in Seattle. I want to soak up all the flora and fauna I can while I'm here. Plus I think it's about time I see your office." She answered, ending her reasoning with a smug smile.

"Alright then, let's go. I know the perfect trail." We got in the rabbit and headed toward a hiking trail. It had been about a week since we killed the leech and all of us were pretty convinced that he was alone but Sam being Sam still had us on high alerts.

Alyssa was absolutely adorable when she got out of the car. She looked like the typical tourist with a camera hanging from her wrist and sun glasses on top of her head. We made our way into shade of the trail and started out peaceful walk. Every once in a while Alyssa would stop and take a picture and she would force me into taking those goofy pictures when one person holds their arm out and tries to get both people in the window. After walking for a couple hours or so and stopping at least half a dozen times for picture opportunities we hit the end of the trail. At the end of the hike we were rewarded with a really nice view of a waterfall.

Alyssa's reaction was amusing to say the least. When we turned the last bend leading to the look out deck she let out a loud gasp and started to run toward the observation area. Of course her camera was out and ready for this little miracle of nature. Walking up behind her I wound my arms around her waist I leaned down to her ear.

"Do ya like it?"

"What's not to like this is gorgeous, Jake."

"Just like you." I saw her blush a little and she spun around in my arms to look at me.

"Alright, picture time. Stand by the railing." She pulled out of my arms and walked away so she could take the picture.

Shaking my head I asked "What is with all the pictures today?"

"I want to remember every bit of this place and this day. Pictures are the best way to accomplish that goal. Now don't be stubborn, smile." I conceded and plastered on my cheesiest grin. Alyssa just giggled at me and took the picture.

"I hope you know that is getting saved and will be probably get used against you at some point in time."

"Well if that's so, I need an opportunity for revenge." I held out my hand expectantly. "Camera, please"

"Nu huh, not happening." She looked at me like I had lost my marbles.

"What? You've got to get your picture taken too."

"Okay." She handed me the camera and leaned against the railing that overlooked the waterfall smiling.

"Excuse me, where is you're goofy face."

"Nope, you can carry the camera but I'm not just going to give you stuff to blackmail me with. This is an art ya know."

"Fine, but I will get you eventually." I took her picture and then slid the camera into my pocket. Taking Alyssa's left hand securely in mine and headed back down the trail that would lead to the car.

We had almost made it back to the trail head when Alyssa's phone started to ring in her pocket. She pulled it out and read the name. A bewildered expression swept across her face.

She flipped it open and answered the phone "Hello? . . . Oh hi . . . uh huh . . . Really!?" She got excited at that point and her face lit up. "You're the best; I don't know how to thank you. . . . Sure thing, I'll take Jake." This got my attention. I assumed she was talking to someone from back home but what would they want to tell me. "Alright, thanks again . . . Talk to ya later Jared, bye." She closed the phone and smiled up at me.

"Jared? What was that?"

"Well, Jared decided that since it's my last night here he would 'be the nice guy' and take your shift tonight." In her excitement she even used air quotes and made her voice drop and octave while telling me his words.

"I get to stay with you all night?" Now I was the overly excited one I picked Alyssa up and twirled her around in a circle, almost hitting an unsuspecting jogger in the process. She just nodded her head and giggled.

Putting Alyssa back on her feet we finished the short walk back to the car. It was later than I had realized and if I wanted my plan to go perfectly we would have to head back to Emily's to get ready.

Parking the car at Sam's and getting out, Alyssa was begging for me to tell her what we were doing. It was definitely a challenge but I stood strong. I was determined that this evening would be a surprise. Making our way into the house Alyssa tried to get it out of both Emily and Kim but they just shared knowing smiles and refused to answer her questions.

Emily Young is a god of romance, though I'm pretty sure most girls are into that kind of mushy stuff. She helped me immensely to get ready for Alyssa's last night. While we were out hiking she had made food for me. Alyssa's favorite, fried chicken and potato salad. She bundled it all up for me and as soon as my angel was out of the room she rushed to hand me the large basket of necessities. I quickly ran it out to the rabbit and made it back into my seat just before Alyssa came into the room.

"Alright, I have things to do so I think I'm going to head out." I tried to act nonchalant but it wasn't working. An almost hurt expression graced Alyssa's face when she looked up at me.

"You're leaving?"

"Of course I am. I have to go get ready and so do you."

"Ready for what?"

"Nope, you're just going to have to wait and see."

Kim stood up at about this point and put her hand on Alyssa's shoulder. "I'll help you get ready. It shouldn't take long at all."

I kissed her on the forehead one last time before Kim turned her around and they walked down the hall. The only people left in the kitchen were Emily and me. Before I turned to leave I made sure to thank Emily yet again for helping me with everything.

"It's really no problem at all Jake. Actually this is kind of fun."

"Well thank you still. Now I have to go try to find some nice clothes that might fit me."

I heard Emily's giggles before I turned to see her face. She was nodding her head like she was expecting me to say that. "I put some of Sam's clothes in with everything else."

"You're a miracle worker."

"No just a hopeless romantic. Now you better get going before Alyssa gets your plans out of Kim. They are in there unsupervised."

"Alright, I should be back within a half hour or so." I turned and was just about out of the house when Emily stopped me again.

"Oh and Jake, knock on the door. Trust me." I nodded my head so she knew I was listening and sped off in the direction of my house. I had to get ready before I came back to pick up Alyssa.

After taking a quick shower and stuffing myself into the uncomfortable clothes that Emily packed for me I was ready to head back to Sam's house. When I got there I knocked on the door like suggested. It felt exceedingly awkward to knock on the door to the house that had pretty much been home to me for so long but Emily told me to so I did. After three loud knocks I heard Emily telling someone to get the door. Behind the door was a smirking Sam. He was going to have way too much fun with this.

Extending his hand for a handshake he welcomed me into the house. "Hello there, I hear you're taking out our Alyssa this evening."

"Are you serious Sam?" Was he really going to make this evening more difficult than it really needed to be just for fun?

"No, I just wanted to see your face." He chuckled. "She'll be ready in a minute."

The living room was definitely the wrong place for me to wait. As soon as I walked in the guys were chuckling and making wise cracks about my outfit. It wasn't so much that I cared because to be honest I would make fun of any one of them that showed up looking like I did but this was for Alyssa and that made it different. Acceptable almost.

All teasing and taunting become nonexistent as soon as Emily cleared her throat from somewhere behind me. I turned around to see what she needed and saw Alyssa, my angel, the most beautiful woman I have ever seen in my life, standing next to her looking shy.

She wasn't wearing anything too fancy, just a nice pair of jeans and a lightweight black sweater that hugged her in just the right way. They had curled her hair and pulled it back so it was away from her face. I am definitely not a guy who usually notices hair and make-up stuff but this was different she was stunning.

I couldn't say anything; there were literally no words. I ran over to her and enveloped her in my arms pulling her closer to me. It wasn't until then that I noticed she was a good four inches taller than usual. The top of her head was up to my shoulder at that point. She looked somewhat stunned by my reaction until the surprise wore off then she just blushed and looked down toward her shifting feet. I wasn't having any of that I used a finger to raise her head. I just stood there looking at her blushing face until I felt a hand come down onto my shoulder.

Shaking my head out of my daze I looked over to see Sam standing to my right. "Don't you have places to be?" I couldn't believe it. How long had we just been standing there staring at each other?

"Yeah, we'll see you guys later." I pulled Alyssa to my side and walked with her out to the car.

Forcing myself to focus on the road and not to stare at Alyssa we eventually made it to a cliff that overlooked the water but was secluded enough that nobody would be around. I parked the car and ran around to get Alyssa's door for her. I really was working hard on being a gentleman for her.

When I opened her door she gingerly stepped out and looked up at me confused. "Where are we?"

"It's a surprise but we have to walk a little ways."

With a breathy laugh Alyssa shook her head and started to flush slightly. "What's wrong?"

She lifted her leg slightly and pulled her right pant leg up revealing a large and dangerous heal. "Kim told me that I should wear heals. I thought they knew where we were going."

"I don't get it what's wrong with the heals?"

"I'm not exactly a 'heal type of girl'. I'm not going to be able to walk on a rocky path."

Thinking it through really quickly I gestured for her to take a seat in the car again and went to the trunk to get the basket.

"Wait right here and I'll be back before you know it." Before she had tine to protest I sprinted down the path. I laid a blanket down on the rock ground and set the basket of food off to the side.

I ran back to the car to find Alyssa sitting just where I had left her. "Are you ready?"

Getting out of the car once again she looked baffled. "Huh?" I didn't wait to ask I just picked her up and closed the car door with my foot. Of course she immediately panicked realizing she was in the air. "Jake, what are you doing?"

"You can't walk on the rocky path. Your surprise is down a rocky path. I'm going to carry you down said rocky path to said surprise." I thought that was obvious but the explanation was enough to send her into a fit of girly giggling. "What?"

"It's nothing." I didn't believe that at all and I'm guessing she understood that by my incredulous look. "Okay, Kim said that you would enjoy the heals. These were supposed to be quote in quote 'her surprise for you'. I thought that was because I would be tall but I'm now thinking she knew you would have to carry me."

Kim is one smart girl. She was more than right. This was a good way to start the night. Though I had never even considered shoes as having any importance before I was pleasantly surprised by the advantages of high heals.

Setting Alyssa down on the blanket I had laid out she was still shocked by the view. We were looking out over the ocean and James Island was visible to the far left. The clear sky from our earlier hike was still present and we were going to have a clear view of the sun setting when the time came.

"Jake, this is beautiful."

"I know." I'm not sure that she noticed I wasn't looking at our surroundings at that point. All my attention as focused on her face.

I pulled out the food and set it on the blanket in front of us. Alyssa's eyes grew wide and she looked up at me. "You cooked?" I didn't know if I thought this was a funny question or if I was offended by it, but when she smiled I knew I was amused.

"No, Emily did. But I asked her to make your favorites. That's gotta count for something."

"It's great Jake."

We slowly ate the food that Emily had made for us while we watched the sun setting over the calming waves of ocean. In what seemed like a few minutes the sun was completely set and we were looking at the stars as they glistened against the blackened sky. I knew it must have been getting late and Alyssa would want to be awake to go back to school the next day so I packed the stuff up and put it all back in the basket.

This time Alyssa held the nearly empty basket as I carried her to the car. Placing her gently in the passenger seat I noticed the clock on the dashboard. We had stayed out much longer than I was expecting. It was well after midnight. I ran around to my side of the car then we drove back to Sam and Emily's house for our last full night together.

- - -

Waking up was a bitter sweet experience. I was with Alyssa whose presence always made me happy but I also knew that this was going to be the last time I would wake up with her for awhile.

We just lay in bed for a long time after we were both awake wrapped up in each other's arms. We may have stayed like that forever it Embry hadn't burst into the room telling us to wake up. Both of us sat up like a shot Alyssa was grabbing the covers pulling them around her. I seriously don't understand her insecurity.

"Up, up, up! It's already ten and you guys have to head out by noon."

"Fine, we're up. Now get out." Embry just smiled at us and walked out, closing the door behind him.

"You ready to start the day?" I asked pulling Alyssa closer to me.

When Alyssa responded her voice was thick. "No, I don't want to leave you or La Push, Jake. I really like it here." She was avoiding looking at me and I knew that there were tears welling up in her eyes by now.

There was nothing I could do to make this particular pain go away. She had to go to school it wasn't negotiable. Of course I would go with her if I could but I had responsibilities here: the pack, school, and my dad. All of which I had neglected far too much recently. I have to find a way to make this all work.

"I'm always going to be around sweetie. I'll come up and visit you and you are always welcome here. We'll make this work somehow. Like I said I love you too much to not find a way."

"And like I said, never too much. I love you too Jake." Alyssa finally smiled. That one small gesture alone held the ability to brighten my entire world.

We got out of bed and got ready for the long day of goodbyes ahead of us. Alyssa packed up her bag and left it on the bed. When I went to grab it to take it out to the car I saw my boxers and wife beater lying on the top. I couldn't help but smile as I zipped up the bag and pulled it onto my shoulder.

We started the goodbyes with the pack, who were all in the living room when we walked in. Kim and Emily were almost in tears when they gave Alyssa one last hug. The last person we had to say goodbye to was Billy, so we went over to my house to see him.

"It's been real nice to meet you Alyssa. Come back anytime. You're always welcome here."

A tear started to slide down Alyssa's cheek and I squeezed her hand in reassurance. She pulled her hand away from me and threw her arms around my dad's neck. "Thank you so much for letting me stay, Billy. It means a lot to me." I had to chuckle at my dad's uncomfortable face. He patted her on the back as she hugged him.

"Sweetie, we better head out it's a long drive to Seattle."

"Okay." She wasn't even trying to hide her tears anymore she stood up straight. "Thanks again Billy."

He nodded and wheeled his way to the door to watch us leave. The drive to Seattle was quiet for the most part. Alyssa stopped crying after awhile and then she just sat looking out the window looking at the scenery. We were pulling into the parking lot outside her building when I got a brilliant idea.

"Hey, you should keep the rabbit."

"What?! How would you get home?"

"I can run. It would be faster anyways. I have my bike if I need to go somewhere and this way you can get down to La Push if you need to."

"I can't take your car Jake. You love this car." I had found a spot to park and we were standing outside the door to her apartment at this point.

"I love you more. It would make me feel a whole hell of a lot better if you had a way to get around."

"The bus is just fine for me. What if the guys need a ride somewhere?"

"We'll take Sam's car if we have to. Please, I'll leave it here if you want me to or not so you might as well agree."

Rolling her head she nodded and took the keys out of my hand. Before she could pull away and open the door I snagged her hand and leaned in to kiss her. Before not too long I heard a door close and a sharp intake of breath. We pulled away from each other trying to regain normal breathing.

There was a tall dark haired girl standing outside the door next to Alyssa's. Her eyes were big with shock and her mouth was slightly open. "S-Sorry to interrupt. I-I-I didn't realize anyone lived there." The girl was blushing and I was trying not to laugh at her embarrassment.

Alyssa cleared her throat and stepped toward the girl. "Hi I'm Alyssa West. I've been staying with my boyfriend for awhile but I live here. It's nice to meet you."

The girl pulled her eyes off of me and looked at Alyssa for the first time. "Hi, I'm Kelly Norris. So you're a freshman?"

"Yeah, you?"

"mmhmm and so is my roommate. Her names Angela you'll probably see her around eventually." They both looked slightly awkward. "Well, I was on my way down to the bookstore, so I better get going. It was nice to meet you Alyssa and you too, ummm?"

"Jake Black."

"Jake, I'll see you guys around." She turned around and headed down the sidewalk toward the main campus.

We went into Alyssa's apartment and closed the door behind us. "Now where were we?" I asked as I pulled her back to me. She giggled in acceptance as I attacked her lips with mine. It wasn't long before Alyssa's back was pressed against the front door, her legs securely wrapped around my waist with her hands entwined in my hair. My hands were steadying her hips so she wouldn't fall. We had been completely absorbed in our little moment when her phone started to ring from across the room. "Arg. This isn't working very well today is it?"

"No, that's my dad's ring tone I have to get it." Hopping down she crossed the room a flipped the phone open.

"Hey Daddy, how are you? . . . Oh yeah, that's good. . . I'm great. Jake just brought me back to actually. . . Yeah he's still here. . . No dad, he's not staying. . . What? . . . I stayed his friend Emily's house. . . Yes dad. . . I know. I love you too. . . Can I call you back? Jake has a long drive home. . . I'll call you later. Love you." She hung up the phone while shaking her head.

"What was that about?"

"My dad is being incredibly nosey. I'm pretty sure he thinks we're sleeping together. I can tell he doesn't like the idea of you and me here alone."

"So you told him that you stayed at Emily's . . . you just conveniently left off the part that I stayed there too?"

"He didn't ask where you slept. I'm sneaky but I'm no liar." She had a cheeky smile on her face now. Wrapping her arms around my waist again she just stood there with her head resting on my chest for awhile. "When do you have to take off?"

"I have patrol tonight so I should get going soon." With that statement out, I could feel her arms clutching tighter around my waist. I couldn't help but smile a little at the thought that she wanted me to stay.

In what seemed like no time at all it was time for me to head back to La Push for patrol. I didn't want to leave but knew I would have to sooner or later. She walked me to the door and kissed me once more before I left.

"Call me when you get there okay?"

"If it makes you feel better."

"It will. I don't think I'm going to like this whole not being with you thing, ya know."

"I know. I hate it to. We'll talk all the time and I'll visit a ton. Plus you'll be so busy being a genius that you won't have time to miss me."

"I doubt that." Hugging me one last time before I absolutely had to leave I could see her trying to hold back her tears. "I love you Jake."

"I love you too but don't say it like I'm about to die or anything. I'm going to run patrol, same as always. You'll see soon. You're going to love this place."

"I'm sure you're right. You better get going before Sam gets mad."

"Yeah" I couldn't resist one last kiss. Okay so I didn't even try to resist to be perfectly honest. "I love you."

"Love you too."

I walked off toward the woods so I could start my long, depressing run back home.

- - -

_Okay so this is a super long installment. I don't know if you guys are interested anymore in reading about Jake and Alyssa when there is the "reality" of Nessie and Jake to ponder over. So PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE let me know what you if you still want to read it through reviews. _

_Also I have been hearing some pretty iffy things about what people thought of Breaking Dawn. I'm just stepping out there and saying I liked it and still LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Stephenie Meyer. She did an amazing job closing up Bella's story in my opinion. _


	14. First Day Jitters

I do not own Twilight

_I do not own Twilight. Everything you recognize is the work of the brilliant Stephenie Meyer._

- - -

The first two days after I dropped off Alyssa were pure hell. When Sam wasn't forcing me to focus on patrols, or I was talking to her on the phone I was utterly useless. The guys tried to cheer me up but it didn't seem to be working. I would mope around the house aimlessly or sit out on our rock just staring at the ocean. Nothing seemed _right _without Alyssa around to share it with me.

I would be starting my junior year that Monday, whether I remained in a foul mood or not. My dad kept saying 'you're an upper classman now, Jake. This will be the best year yet.' I knew that he would be right under normal circumstances but I wasn't exactly the normal teenager.

I already knew what I would probably end up doing with my life. I knew that I would end up staying on the reservation and marrying Alyssa—God willing—someday. I was only staying in school for two primary reasons.

1. I promised my dad I would finish out my senior year, and

2. I had to '_set a good example for the tribe_'; Sam was all about using us as role models.

I never thought it would be possible, especially since I wasn't in the best of dispositions but I was actually kind of looking forward to school by the night before. I decided that any distraction would be better than simply sitting around wishing I was with Alyssa. School would take up at least six hours out of my day and give me something to focus on. Who knows it may just be for the best.

- - -

On the first day of school I woke up and hopped into the shower in an optimistic mood. I wanted find a way to be happy, or as close to happy as a person missing part of their soul can be, even in the moments when I wasn't in close contact with Alyssa. I'm sure she was finding ways and I wanted to do the same. After my shower, which I could never get hot enough these days, I got dressed and headed out to the garage to grab my bike. I made school in record time and met up with Quil and Jared, whose lockers were next to mine.

"Hey guys, excited for yet another joyous year at QTS?" I asked the guys when I walked up.

"I'm not quite as jazzed about as you seem to be but I'm sure it will be okay." Jared said with a chuckle. Quil just shook his head at my fake enthusiasm. It was about that time that Seth, Paul, and Embry came strolling down the hall.

From the cocky smile on Seth's face you could tell thought pretty highly of himself for a freshman. To be honest if I started high school already in a group of older friends I would probably be thinking pretty highly of myself too, though. It was pretty funny if you ask me. "Hey guys how's it goin'?"

"Pretty good but I'm sorry we just can't associate with lesser beings that are freshmen." Quil said with a smug smile.

Seth's face fell in mock sadness. "I'm hurt Quil. All this time I thought we were brothers." He playfully punched him in the arm and we all started to laugh.

Our laughter came to an abrupt halt when Melissa Dunken walked into our circle. Last year Quil had asked her out, nearly getting beat up by her senior boyfriend in the process. From the flirtatious smile plastered on her face and the gooey looks she was sending to Quil I would guess that she was no longer connected to the same guy from the last year.

"Hi, Quil, guys," It was obvious she was more interested in talking to him than the rest of us. "How was your summer?"

It was obvious that Quil wasn't interested in the attention. Dating was tricky enough being a werewolf but imprinting made it an even more complex situation, especially for Quil. He had decided not to date after he imprinted on Claire. It was a decision I didn't really understand until I met Alyssa. He never really saw girls now-a-days. Claire was his life and he was more than happy to wait for her.

"My summer was good. How about you Seth; did you have good summer?"

"Ummmm . . . y-yeah great summer." Seth stammered, unsure what exactly was going on.

"That's nice." It was more than obvious that Melissa wasn't going to be deterred that easily. "Well I better get going. I'll see you around sometime Quil." She smiled and ran her hand down his arm suggestively while walking away.

Once she was out of earshot we all burst into hysterical laughter, except for Quil and Seth, who was still trying to figure out what was going on.

"It's not funny guys. What the hell am I supposed to do?" shaking his head Quil started mumbling to himself. "Of course she likes me now . . . _after_ I almost died last year."

Kim walked into our circle at this point wrapping her arm around Jared as best she could. Looking around the group she got a weird look on her face and looked up to Jared. "Did I miss something?"

"Oh nothing to big, Quil's just got an unwanted admirer. He'd rather stick to Barney and The Wiggles for now." Jared informed her setting everyone off laughing again.

"Don't laugh at him." She said as she slapped his arm. "I think its sweet Quil. Claire, will appreciate it when she's older." He just shrugged in response and then our little party was broken up by the warning bell.

We split up to head to our individual classes. My schedule for that semester was particularly brutal. Thanks to Billy enrolling me when I was gone I was taking Algebra II, Junior English, Quileute III-which wouldn't be so bad if I wasn't already fluent in the language. Then I would break for lunch and end the day with Gym, Chemistry, and Study Hall. I would definitely need that. I didn't think I would make it through with such an academic schedule. Had my dad never heard the word _shop_?

Since there was nothing I could do about my schedule at that point I decided to suck it up and deal. I took a deep breath and walked into my first class. I seized a seat in the back row and prayed I could make it through the day without starting to mope again.

By lunch I was ready for a break. My first three classes didn't seem _too _bad. Math was going to be tough but what's new there? English didn't seem like it was going to cause me that big of a problem. It was mostly reading and cliff notes were around for a reason. Quileute was going to be a more _interesting_ class than I had previously assumed. As we sat down to lunch I started talking to the guys, and Kim, about it.

"So are any of you guys taking Quileute?" I asked the table.

"No, why would we. We kind of already know it." Seth said from the opposite side of the table.

"Well, I am. Not all of us have Sam's built in knowledge to go off of and I needed a language." Kim told him from her seat next to Jared

"What level are you at?"

"Two. Why?"

"Billy signed me up for my classes while I was gone. I was put in Quileute III. I didn't think it would be that bad. Easy A, right? No such luck, in this class we are going to go into more than just language. We are going into legends too." I rolled my eyes at this point I was less than thrilled at this idea.

The guys seemed to understand my apprehension to this idea but Kim was still clueless. "I don't get it. What's wrong with that? Nobody knows them better than you guys."

Jared took the liberty to explain for me. "Yeah, but now he's gonna have to sit there for forty-five minutes a day and listen to how wolves are silly stories that people made up. Nobody believes in us anymore."

"Oh" Kim seemed to get it but she didn't really know what to say.

"It's alright. I'll just see if I can transfer into shop or something."

The table grew quiet after that and everyone was devouring our crappy cafeteria food. It only took a few minutes for all of the food in sight to be gone and for conversation to start back up. I wasn't really listening to what was going on around me. I was to busy thinking about Alyssa. What she was doing now, where she was, if she was safe. I just couldn't get it out of my head. Jared nudged me to get my attention.

"Miss her don't you?"

"mmhmm. Is it that obvious?" Apparently my optimism from that morning had slowly started to wear off and I was becoming the sulking mess I had been the day before again.

"Oh, only to people with eyes. Here" he handed me a small black phone "call her. It will make you feel better."

"Thanks bro." I got up from my spot at the table, threw my tray away and headed for the hall so I could talk in private.

Once in the hall I dialed the number I had memorized during the past few days and waited for my angel to pick up.

"Hello?"

"Hi beautiful, miss me?"

"Jake! Aren't you supposed to be in school?"

"I am its lunch. I missed you and Jared took pity on me so he leant me his phone."

"Remind me to hug Jared when I come back. Of course I missed you. I didn't even have classes to distract me. You're lucky."

"_Lucky,_ to be in _school_? I think I might have fallen for a nerd." I smiled and could here her laughing from the other end. "You start classes tomorrow. Then we'll both be lucky." I'm pretty sure anyone within a five mile radius could _feel _the sarcasm dripping from my words.

"Yeah, I'm scared to start though. What if I'm not any good this college thing?"

"Are you kidding me? You're going to do great. You're dating me, which already proves that you're a genius." I could only hope that my stupid humor could make her feel better because it wasn't physically possible for me to give her the big hug that I wanted to.

Her small laugh made me feel slightly better, though I still could tell she had some reservations. "You're right; you have a huge ego but your right. I'm worrying for no reason. So how are your classes?"

"Good, I'm thinking I might switch a couple but I'm not sure yet." The first warning bell rang and I knew I had to hang up.

Alyssa could hear it on her end of the phone too. "Sounds like its time for you to go."

The hall was becoming crowded with students making their ways to fourth period so I had to talk excessively loud so Alyssa could hear me. "Yeah, I have to go. I'll call you the minute I get home. I love you." I was practically shouting by the end of my conversation and a couple of girls turned their heads to my loud declaration.

"Love you too, bye." The phone disconnected and I started to walk in the direction of the gym.

The mid-day phone call to Alyssa was just what I needed to get me through the rest of my classes. Turns out I had gym with Jared and Paul, Chemistry with Kim, and Study Hall with Quil and Embry—that one had the potential to get us all in trouble—but I was alright with that.

When the final bell rang at quarter after two I couldn't have been more relieved. I didn't even wait for the guys to pack up their stuff. My only thought was getting home so I could call Alyssa again. I made it to the front entrance quicker than most of the other restless students but I was stopped before I could make it all the way to the parking lot where my bike was awaiting me.

Seth's smiling figure raced up on my left side. "Hey Jake, how was your first day."

Even if I didn't particularly want to be there talking to him at that moment I couldn't find it in me to be annoyed with Seth. He was just too happy of a person to get sincerely mad at. "Pretty good, how did you enjoy being a freshman finally?"

"It's pretty much amazing. . ." his smile spread out even further. "A sophomore asked me out. I'm pretty sure she thought I was older but who cares?"

"Big man on campus! What a stud. Looks like you're going to have to give our man Paul over there some tips." Seth turned around just in time to catch a glimpse of Paul stomping straight past a crowd of girls who were obviously interested in him. I swear the guy was clueless sometimes.

Still shaking his head at Paul Seth looked over to me. "Everyone's going over to Sam and Emily's house. You coming?"

"Nah, I'm gonna go call Alyssa."

"Hmmm figures. Well, I'll see ya later man." With that Seth walked off in the direction of Jared's jeep and I headed toward my bike.

- - -

When I finally made it home I went straight for the phone. I didn't want to do anything but talk to my angel. My dad saw me storm through the house and straight into the kitchen where the phone was mounted on the wall. I saw him shaking his head and laughing at me but at that point in time I really didn't care.

I dialed the familiar number and waited for someone to pick up. It rang and rang until it was eventually picked up by voicemail. "Hey, this is Alyssa's phone. I wasn't able to answer your call so leave a message after the beep and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. _BEEP _"

I hung up the phone without bothering to leave a message. Why didn't she answer? Was she okay, or hurt, or sad? I had to know. I was starting to hyperventilate when I heard the wheels of my dad's chair squeaking on the linoleum floor.

"Calm down, Jake. What happened?"

"Umm, uh," I was having trouble forming a coherent thought. "S-she didn't answer." I was still panicking

"I'm sure its nothing. She probably didn't hear it ring or was busy doing something. Give her a little time and call her back."

"Alright" I resigned with a sigh. Since I got home from Canada I had been trying to listen to my dad's advice a little more. He didn't try to 'parent' me necessarily but he was a smart guy and usually knew what the right thing to do was.

I waited twenty minutes before I called again. There was still no answer. I was about to go off the deep end after an hour and a half and four unanswered phone calls. I was far to worried just to stand around and not do anything so I decided that I would go to Seattle.

I started to run through the house and to the front door. As the screen door slammed behind me I could faintly hear Billy yelling from the living room "remember it's a school night Jake!" Like I cared, my imprint wasn't answering her phone and I was concerned.

No more than a minute after leaving my house I was stripped, phased and running in the direction of Seattle. Once I was in wolf form I could tell that almost everyone else was too. Evidently Paul and Quil got into an argument over who was faster so they were racing to find out. Normally I would have been right there in the middle of the action but my frantic thoughts of about Alyssa were overwhelming me at the moment.

_Calm down Jake. I'm sure she's fine._ Sam tried to comfort me._ Embry, why don't you go with him, that way if anything happens he's not alone._

_I don't need a babysitter Sam. I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself and Alyssa thank you very much._ I was well aware that I was sounding like a petulant five year old but I didn't really care at that point in time.

_Embry go, now!_ Sam had used his 'alpha voice' and Embry started to run after me. It wasn't long before he caught up to me and we were running side by side. I wasn't really thinking about anything except Alyssa until long after Paul had beaten Quil and everyone had phased back to get some dinner. It seemed peaceful to only have one extra person in my head.

_Listen Jake, I'm sorry Sam made me come with you. _

_No, it's okay. It's not like you asked to come._

_True_. Thanks in large part to our heightened speed and my determination we had made a four hour car ride in about an hour and a half. We were coming up to the point in our trip when we would have to phase back. Once both Embry and I were dressed we headed out of the last shred of nature between La Push and Alyssa's building.

I could see my rabbit still parked where I had left it when I dropped Alyssa off. I started sprinting toward her door. Barely caring that it was slightly faster than most humans would be able to accomplish. All I cared about in that moment was making sure my beautiful angel was alright.

I had made it all the way to her door before Embry caught up. I balled my hand into a fist and rapped on the door with three sharp blasts. There was no answer so I tried again this time I followed the knocks with me calling Alyssa's name at the top of my lungs. There was still no answer.

Embry came up behind me and clapped his hand onto my right shoulder. "We'll just sit here and wait. I'm sure she's fine. She'll be back soon."

That's exactly what I intended to do too. I sat down on the walkway outside her apartment, my back leaning against the wall and my knees pulled near my chest, and steadied myself to wait as long as it took.

- - -

_So here is my pitifully weak attempt at a cliffhanger. Where do you think our Alyssa West is? Please review. They mean the world to me and encourage me to update faster. _


	15. The Countdown

I do not own Twilight or any of its characters and no copyright infringement is intended

_I do not own Twilight or any of its characters and no copyright infringement is intended. _

- - -

If Embry hadn't been there to wait with me I would have gone completely insane. As it was I was about ready to jump in front of a bus after a couple hours of sitting outside Alyssa's empty apartment. Most of our time was spent in silence. We were trapped in our separate thoughts.

Embry was the first to break through the wall of stillness that had built itself around us. "What's it like, Jake? . . . Imprinting I mean."

I was pretty surprised by his question. He knew just as well as any of us what it was like due to the pack plural. "You've seen it. Hell you were there when Quil imprinted on Claire. What's this really about man?" I wasn't one for heart to hearts I didn't really want to get into a deep girly conversation when I was still worrying about Alyssa.

"I know how it works. . ." I didn't really look like he wanted to have this conversation either but then there was a flash of determination across his face. "Ya think it will happen to everyone? I mean it's already happened to four of you. That seems like more than a fluke."

I nodded my head. All of the guys—and Leah too for that matter—had been wondering if it would happen for them, especially after I found Alyssa. We rarely came right out and discussed imprinting but none of us could hide our true thoughts on the phenomenon.

Jared, Quil, Sam, and now I all felt indebted to imprinting. Embry, Paul, and especially Leah were terrified of it. As for the rest of the pack, imprinting was just something that happened. I think most of that was because they were still pretty young. Finding a soul mate meant practically nothing to the younger members of the pack. Collin and Brady weren't even in high school yet.

"I don't know if it will happen for all of us. I kind of hope it does though, I love her so much." Before Embry could respond we heard someone running up the stairs leading to the hallway. I shot up from where I was hunkered down in hope that it was Alyssa. It wasn't her though, instead a tall girl with light brown hair rounded the corner.

As soon as she saw me she stopped in her tracks and gasped. I knew I recognized her from somewhere but I wasn't sure where. Once she was composed enough to speak she stepped closer to me, to get a better look I assumed. "Jacob Black?" The shock was evident in her tone.

Okay so we did know each other. Is it horrible that I had absolutely no clue who she was? I started racking my brains for a name, a place where I knew her from. I was coming up blank. Embry could see the slight panic on my face and jumped up.

"I'm Embry Call. What's your name?"

"Oh, hi, I'm Angela Webber. What are you two doing here?"

Angela Webber, the name I recognized. She was Bella's friend. From what I remember of what Bella said she was shy. I'm sure seeing two giant guys who live four hours away outside her door was terrifying for her.

"We're waiting for my girlfriend to come home. She lives here." I explained as I pointed to the door of Alyssa's apartment. Angela's eyes followed to where I was pointing. I didn't think it was going to be possible but her eyes bugged out of her head just a little bit further.

"You?! You're Alyssa's boyfriend?"

"Umm, yes." She looked more stunned than I expected. Granted it was rather unbelievable that she knew Bella and now she was Alyssa's neighbor but I didn't much appreciate this amount of astonishment

"Oh, well, I think she might be with Kelly right now… Kelly, that's my roommate."

"We've met actually. Do you by any chance have her number? Alyssa wasn't answering her phone." I was trying to play it off like I wasn't terrified by not being able to reach Alyssa but I don't think it was working too well. Angela got a funny half smile on her face and reached into her oversized bag pulling out a pink cell phone.

After scrolling through her contacts she found what she was looking for and hit the send button. A few seconds had gone by when she turned her back toward Embry and me.

"Hey Kel, its Angela. Are you still with Alyssa? . . . Can I talk to her?" There was a short pause and she looked over her shoulder at us again. I smiled to reassure her but I think it just made her more uncomfortable. "Hey Alyssa, someone is here to see you . . . He _says _he's your boyfriend . . . he's like 6'7" long black hair, Native-American. His name's Jacob Black . . . Oh o-okay." She spun around and stuck her arm out toward me. "She wants to talk to you."

I took the phone out of her hand and pulled it to my ear in a rush. I was finally going to hear her voice. I would know that she was okay finally.

"Hello"

"Jacob? Is something wrong?!" She sounded more alarmed than me.

"No, no, everything's fine now. I was just worried about you."

There was a long pause. I would have thought she had hung up on me if I couldn't hear her breathing on the other end of the phone. "I'll be there in ten minutes Jake." Her voice sounded almost choked like she was having trouble getting the words out. Before I could get out a response the line went dead.

I closed the phone and handed it back to Angela mumbling my thanks.

"She's coming back. She should be here in ten minutes." Embry smiled and Angela just nodded her head.

"Well I have an early day tomorrow. I'll see you guys around." Her face still held a mask of shock and confusion. It would have made me chuckle if it didn't annoy me so much. She walked into the door next to Alyssa's shutting it behind her.

- - -

When Alyssa finally showed up, in what felt far longer than only ten minutes, I couldn't control myself. I ran up to her lifting her off the ground and twirling her in a circle. She didn't throw her arms around my neck like she usually did. Once I set her down I got a chance to look at her expression. She was enraged it closely resembled Skip the morning I answered Alyssa's phone back in Dawson City.

She wasn't looking at my face and it was starting to really bother me. "Alyssa, sweetie, are you okay?"

Her head snapped up to look at me. "Am I okay? Of course I'm okay!" She was raising her voice at this point. This was very un-Alyssa-like. "Why are you here Jake?"

"Like I said, I was worried about you." In my head this was a perfectly acceptable explanation for my presence.

"I see Embry was concerned too. Are Quil and Leah quivering with fear downstairs?!"

"What are you talking about? Sam made Embry come with me. I don't get why you're mad right now." She shook her head like she was trying to sort through her thoughts before grabbing my wrist and pulling me toward her door.

"Excuse us Embry I need to talk to Jacob in private." Embry numbly nodded at her.

Once in the apartment with the door securely closed behind us Alyssa dropped my wrist like contact was burning her. I wasn't quite prepared for the nastiness that radiated from her voice once she started to talk. "Who do you think you are Jacob Black?! You come here with no notice, sit outside my door, scare my neighbor and the only excuse you can come up with was 'I was worried'?!"

"It's the truth. You don't believe me? You can call, ask anyone. I got home from school and tried to call you like half a dozen times."

"So you ran from La Push to Seattle to check up on me because I forgot my phone at home? I don't know if you've realized this but I'm an adult Jake. I managed to survive for eighteen years before I even met you."

"I'm sorry, but when you didn't answer your phone it made me anxious. I was _so_ scared that something happened to you. Maybe I didn't explain the whole imprinting thing well enough to you. You are my life Alyssa, and when I don't know that you are safe and happy, it kills me."

"Well Jake, I might be safe but I'm not happy right now. I can't deal with you being melodramatic if I go out. I can't always sit by the phone waiting for you to call. I hope that's not what you were expecting because I won't be that girl." By this point in our conversation she had simmered down enough that she wasn't yelling anymore. She was obviously still upset but I was determined to find away to make her feel better.

"I'm sorry. I don't think there's anything else I can say. I don't expect you to do anything special for me. I love you for exactly who you are. I know I probably overacted."

She scoffed from across the room. She looked over at me with an incredulous smirk on her face.

"Okay, I'll admit I overreacted completely. I just love you _so much_. I didn't know if you were okay. _Having _an imprint is just as new to me as it is for you to _be _an imprint. I'm sure if you give me another chance we can figure out a way to make it work for us. _Please, Alyssa._" I was pleading with her by the time I stopped talking.

Her eyes softened completely by the time I was done talking. She slowly made her way over to me, tentatively taking my left hand in both of hers and playing with my fingers while she talked. "Jake, I told you I love you right?"

Once the words were out my heart started hammering so hard against my ribs that I was starting to wonder if they wouldn't break. _Please don't take it back. Please don't take it back. Please don't take it back._ My mind was racing but I couldn't find actual words. "mmhmm." She looked up at me and small smile was tugging at the corner of her mouth.

"I meant it. I'm not going to break up with you over a stupid fight. This doesn't mean that I'm happy with what you did, or that I'm forgetting it but I love you Jake." Snaking her arms around my waist she stood up on her tip toes and kissed my chin, which was about as far as she could reach.

I leaned down so she could reach better and placed an innocent kiss on her lips before pulling back up to my full height. "I love you too Alyssa, more than you could ever know."

I don't think there are words to describe how incredible it felt to be able to wrap my arms around Alyssa again. It had only been a few days but it felt like an eternity. I was still at a loss at how we were going to make it through the next few years of separation. It frightened me to think about it, but I knew we had to talk about it eventually.

I waited awhile before bringing up the topic of the distance between us; I was enjoying the silent closeness we were sharing far too much to interrupt it.

It was just about the time that I knew I _should_ be heading home. We both had classes in the morning and would need our sleep, but before I could leave I wanted to talk about how we wanted to make things work for us. We were standing in the middle of her apartment in a close embrace. Alyssa's head was resting on my chest; I was supporting most of her weight.

"What do you want to do now?"

"Hmm?" She sounded like she was almost completely asleep. I knew from previous experience that once she was at this stage there was no way I would get her back to her full capability for conversation. I lifted her up in my arms and carried her toward her bed.

Once I had put her down and pulled away her eyes flew open. "Where are you going?"

"You're sleeping so I was putting you to bed. I need to head home anyways."

"Oh," she sounded disappointed that I was leaving. Though I hate for her to have any unhappy feelings it did make me feel a little better that she wanted me here so badly.

"I think we need to talk. Can I call you tomorrow?"

"You can always call me Jake. You know that."

I nodded my head, looking at my feet. "But will you answer . . . or will you be too busy partying with cool college people?" I felt like I did when my mom caught me painting my name across Rachel and Rebecca's wall when I was six. Ashamed of what I have just said, I knew it was wrong. I finally gained the courage to look Alyssa in the eye.

A tear was rolling down her cheek, slowly making its way closer to her quivering bottom lip. I couldn't believe was I had just said. I had to make the tears stop. "Baby, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that." I made a move to sit down next to her on the bed but she moved away from me.

"I think its time for you to leave Jake. I'm done with classes at four tomorrow. You can call me after that." She wasn't looking at me but I knew she was serious. I stood up and walked toward the door.

I stopped before I made it out of the room. "I love you Alyssa. Please don't forget that." As I continued my walk toward her front door I heard her soft voice quietly speak from the bedroom. "I love you too Jake."

As soon as I could safely phase without being seen I was in wolf form, running through the forest. I could hear Embry's thoughts start to blend with my own. He wasn't far from me and was now hurtling toward me at a fast pace.

_Hey man, that's tough. I'm sure everything will work out though._ Of course he would see the entire scene play back for him as soon as I phased. That was the only thing I was thinking about. I was trying to pinpoint every mistake I made so I could make up for every one of them.

_I'm holding her back. She wants to be a normal college freshman but she has some stupid whining high school werewolf following her around._ I knew I sounded a bit dramatic but I couldn't stop myself from thinking it.

_Dude! She does not think about you like that. Trust me sometimes its weird to be in the same room as you too. It's like Sam and Emily almost. There is no way she would look at you like that if she didn't love you man. _ Embry started to play back a few scenes of Alyssa and me from the time she spent in La Push. He had a point; we did look at each other in a way similar to Emily and Sam do.

He may have been right about Alyssa still loving me but that didn't mean that I didn't have to find a way for her not to be upset with me.

Even after thinking about my problems the entire time I ran I still couldn't come up with a good way to make this up to Alyssa. I was settling for calling her at four o'clock and begging for forgiveness. I chose to ignore Embry's amused thoughts about that I was overreacting again.

- - -

Waking up I was well aware that school was going to be hell that day. I wasn't sure if Alyssa was mad at me still, or how her classes were going for her. That was enough to drive me crazy but it only made it worse that I wasn't _allowed_ to call her until four. The countdown began the moment I woke up.

_9 hours until I can call Alyssa . . ._

I reluctantly rolled out of bed jumped in the shower and got ready for school. I jumped on my bike and made the short trip to the A-Ka-Lat Center. By the time I got there most of the guys were already congregated by my locker joking around and laughing.

It was obvious that Embry had warned the guys about what had happened the night before. Nobody, so much as, mentioned Alyssa's name. I was thankful that they weren't trying to help. It would make my day of wallowing easier.

I successfully made it through my first three classes without having a complete breakdown. My math class hadn't caused much of a problem.

_7.5 hours until I can call Alyssa . . ._

In English we were assigned a big research project that we would be working on for the entire semester. That was definitely something I wasn't looking forward to but I could live.

_6.5 hours until I can call Alyssa . . ._

Quileute III is what plummeted my day from horribly bad to the pits of Hell. We were discussing the legend of the third wife and Melissa Dunken opened her big trap about what she thought. She just went on and on about how the legend was sexist in that it was a woman who ended up sacrificing herself. Not only did her entire argument make her sound like a complete idiot but she was also trying to make anyone who stood up for the legends feel bad about believing them. Yeah, I knew there was a reason I didn't like her.

_5.5 hours until I can call Alyssa . . ._

That discussion pretty much solidified my decision to transfer out of Quileute III. The bell rang for lunch and I went straight to the main office. I would get lunch after I dealt with my schedule. Making my way into the cramped front office I cleared my throat to get the middle aged blonde woman's attention. After she heard me Mrs. Lewis scurried to the counter to help me.

"What can I do for you today Jacob?" Oh the joys of living in a small town. Everyone knows everyone.

"Actually I was hoping I could still switch one of my classes." I stated hopefully.

"What class are you wanting to switch hun?"

"I want to get out of my third period Quileute III class for shop."

"Why on earth would you want to get out of Quileute III? It looks very good on college applications and resumes having a second language and Quileute is a beautiful one."

"Oh I completely agree with you." There was no need to tell her that I had no intention of filling out college applications. "It's just that I'm already fluent in Quileute so I don't want to waste my precious credits." I knew I was laying on pretty thick but I _really _wanted out of that class.

"You're fluent?" She didn't seem to believe me.

"Yes ma'am. I would be more than happy to show you if you want."

"hmmm, okay." She looked over her shoulder looking for someone. "perfect." She mumbled to herself. She called over Mr. Simpson, the vice principal.

"What can I do for you Helen?"

"Well, Mr. Black here wants to transfer out of Quileute III for a shop class. He _says_ he's fluent in Quileute already. I figured if he is really fluent I would let him transfer."

"Okay then, let's see here Jacob." Then Mr. Simpson started speaking to me in Quileute. He seemed pretty impressed after talking to me for a few minutes.

Mrs. Lewis had an amused smirk on her face. She seemed impressed to. Once they were sufficiently convinced that I was telling the truth Mrs. Lewis agreed to switch my schedule. I couldn't be more thankful. I was successfully able to drop Quileute III for Auto shop II. It couldn't be more perfect.

With my semester course load significantly lightened I made my way to lunch. Of course the guys had already demolished all of their food and were talking loudly with each other when I walked up.

"Hey Jakey boy, I was starting to think you went AWOL again." Quil's booming voice rose above the rest.

"Not quite. I was in the office switching classes around. I'm gonna go grab some food." I made my way through the now deserted lunch line, collected enough food to feed several people, paid for it, and headed back to my table.

I took the last open seat at our table between Kim and Seth when I got to the table. Everyone was talking about the trip that the Forks kids had made to first beach that weekend. More specifically they were talking about how Paul got shot down by the one girl he had decided to talk to.

Not having spoken to Alyssa in such a long time I was starting to feel detached. I knew that everyone around me was talking and having a good time poking fun at Paul but I wasn't able to focus on that. Alyssa's face kept running through my mind. I missed her so much and the fact that we weren't on good terms when I left made it worse.

The conversation hadn't captured Kim's attention either and after I finished my meal in silence she put her hand on my shoulder effectively pulling me out of my trance.

She spoke extra quiet, hoping not to grab anyone else's attention. "Hey, I heard what happened… c'mon lets go talk." She started to stand up grabbed hold of my arm in the process to pull me away from the table. My eyes shot to Jared to see if he was going to pick a fight in the middle of the cafeteria over my leaving with Kim. He just looked at me and smiled reassuringly.

In the deserted hallway Kim seated herself comfortably on a bench and patted the seat next to her, signaling that I should sit down too. I sat down and immediately started staring at my shoes. I know how much she knew or what she was going to say about the stupid stuff I had said to Alyssa.

"Jared told me Alyssa and you are fighting."

"Yeah, I was an idiot."

"He said you ran all the way to Seattle."

"I did. . . But she wasn't answering her phone and I didn't know if she was okay. Then I said something really stupid before I left." I started out defending myself and ended in a self loathing tone.

"That's what I heard. Listen Jake, it can't be that bad. When Jared . . ." She looked up at this point to see two gossiping sophomores passing by. Once they were out of hearing range Kim dropped her voice and started talking again in whisper "imprinted on me, before you joined everyone, I went to spend the night at my aunts house like I do every third Friday of the month. Well Jared didn't know about it. I forgot to tell him and he didn't know where I was for about a day and a half."

She started to shake her head as she remembered the events. "When I got home on Sunday I called Jared's house before I event went up to my room. His mom said she hadn't seen him all day. Then I called Sam and Emily's and got the same response. I was pretty confused. When I finally made it up to my room I found Jared sitting on the end of my bed." She paused for a second like she was trying to decide how much to tell me. "He hadn't slept since Thursday night and from the look of him he spent the majority of the time since I left in tears. He was a wreck."

I was pretty confused about how I had missed seeing this particular memory in his thoughts but I let that drop. "What happened then?"

"He was worried about me the entire time I was gone. He had followed my scent until Port Angeles but then lost it. After that he just sat in my room, crying and waiting. For me it was more of a shock to see him sitting in my room _waiting_ for me than anything else."

"But were you mad at him for it. Alyssa was so angry with me." I winced at the memory of her irate face.

"Yeah, I _yelled _at him. I never yell. I was just so angry that he had broken into my room moped for the last day and a half. I remember telling him that I had a life outside of him and no matter how much I loved him I had to be my own person still."

"Why did you forgive him?" This was the important part of the story in my opinion. Maybe I could use whatever got Jared out of trouble to my own benefit now.

"We talked about it, simple as that. He explained how much it scares him not to know that I'm alright and I told him that I need to be independent too. We made an agreement that we will always have our cells on us. Even if it's just me texting him with an 'I'm alive but need time' we will always be able to get in touch with each other. Oh, and unless we literally cannot answer the phone we always pick up for each other."

That sounded like a great plan to me. It was working for them pretty well too. "See you guys have a good system. I want that with Alyssa."

Shaking her head like I was missing something very obvious she explained. "We've had more time to figure out a method that works for us. You and Alyssa are new to this you'll figure it out. I've learned something since I've been pulled into the crazy world we live in" she mused almost to herself.

"What's that?"

"There aren't very many of us who get to experience the immense amount of love connected to imprinting. Right?"

I nodded my head. "We're the lucky ones, Jake. But how I see it is that because we get to experience a love so much stronger than most we also have to put in a lot more effort to make it work. I don't know about you but I would gladly deal with fights like these if it means I get Jared."

"I know what you mean. I guess if you think about it in the big picture if I have to deal with this now in order to have Alyssa with me forever . . . it's worth it."

"Mmhmm, exactly." She stood up and stretched her arms over her head. "We better get back to the guys before Jared gets to jumpy." Just as she said it her cell started to vibrate in her pocket. Taking it out and flipping it open she shook her head. "Speak of the devil and the devil shall text you. C'mon."

As we made our way back to the table, and one relieved looking Jared, I couldn't help but wonder why Jared had never thought about that weekend. I had to know. "I wonder why I don't remember him thinking about all that."

"What?" Kim asked

"Jared, he's never thought of that story when we were in our wolf forms."

Kim's lit up with a knowing smirk and then she looked horrified. Snapping her head up to look at me and stepping in front of me to halt my progress. She was blushing a dark shade of red. "Please, please, _please,_ don't ask him why. I think I know what part of that weekend he would remember." With that she spun around and made a beeline toward Jared's awaiting arms. _Hmm, I hope my fight with Alyssa ends up with an ending like that._

- - -

The rest of the school day went by without event. I continued my mental countdown to four o'clock and when the final bell rang for school to be released I jumped out of my seat.

_2.5 hours until I can call Alyssa . . ._

When I got home I did all of my homework and even cleaned my shoebox of a room. That didn't take quite as much time as I would have hoped. Homework took a lousy thirty minutes, classes hadn't really gotten into full swing yet, and cleaning my room was surprisingly easy. I spent the remaining two hours channel surfing and watching the clock.

At precisely four o'clock the phone rang. At first I was ecstatic. Thinking that Alyssa was so excited to talk to me that she couldn't wait for my phone call but when I answered the phone only to hear Quil trying to hold back a snigger I snarled heartily and slammed the phone onto the receiver.

A calming breath later, I was picking up the phone and dialing the ten digits that would allow me to hear my angel's voice. _Hopefully._

- - -

_This chapter was hard for me to write. I just didn't know how far to make it go. I thought this was a good place to end it . . . but maybe that's just because I'm evil. Reviews really do make me update faster. I only got ONE review for the last chapter. Truly saddens me. _


	16. Promises and Parties

Stephenie Meyer owns them

_I want to start by saying I'm SORRY I'm SORRY I'm SORRY! My roommate unexpectedly came back into town and I had absolutely no time to write. Classes start at the end of September and I'm trying to get as much done as I can before then so please stick with me... _

_Stephenie Meyer owns them. I just play with them in my free time._

- - -

Standing in the middle of my kitchen on a Thursday afternoon, I was shaking like a leaf. My tremors didn't signify my transformation from man to animal though. These particular shivers showed the fear of what this phone call could lead to. Who knew that after everything I had been through so far in my life that my biggest fear would end up being the possible words of a 5'2" woman.

"Hi Jake," she answered after only a couple of rings sounding just as nervous as I was.

"Hi baby, how was your day?"

"Pretty good, for the most part. How about you?"

"Alright, I missed you a whole lot." I figured I might as well be honest, even if it did make me sound like a love sick puppy. As pathetic as it sounded that description actually fit me almost perfectly.

"I missed you too." She seemed like she was trying to find a way to talk about what we both knew had to be talked about.

A short pause later, and I couldn't stand it anymore. "I'm really sorry about last night. I was stupid and I shouldn't have said what I did."

"No arguments here. I wasn't doing anything wrong Jake. Do you know where I was last night?"

"No, that was part of my problem."

She let out an exasperated sigh. I could tell she was trying not to get in another fight with me. "I wasn't _partying with college people._ I was out with Kelly, Angela, and her boyfriend Ben figuring out where our classes were so we wouldn't get lost today."

Yeah, I pretty much felt like a jerk at about that point. "I pretty much knew you weren't partying but . . . not knowing that you are safe drives me insane."

"I get that Jake, I swear I do. I understand that you worry . . . Worry I get. I mean it's nerve-racking when you're on patrol and I don't know if you're hurt, or dead, or if you will ever come back to me. I was frustrated last night when you didn't deserve it and I was the one forgot my phone in the first place. I'm sorry."

Great she was apologizing when I'm the one who should have been saying I'm sorry. She forgot her phone, something that anyone could have done and I freaked out like an overbearing jerk. "No you shouldn't feel bad. I'm the one who messed up."

"This isn't getting us anywhere. Let's just say we both screwed up." I started to interrupt her but she stopped me before I could. "No, just listen. I would rather agree that we are both partially to blame for last night and figure out how to make all of this work in the future. Let's just move on Jake."

There was a long pause. I was trying to find the right words to explain my idea to 'make it work' with Alyssa. While I was thinking I heard her take a deep breath, directly followed by a sniffle. "That is if you still _want_ to make it work. I'll understand if you've changed your mind." She was crying now I could hear her trying to hold back her sobs.

"Oh, baby, no. Of course I haven't changed my mind. You can ask me everyday for the rest of my life and I will always give you the same response. I promise, you are all I will ever want. You're stuck with my ugly mug for life."

Alyssa and I talked on the phone for a little over three and a half hours; Billy eventually made me get off the phone so he wouldn't miss his weekly phone call from Rachel. We talked about all of the stuff that we needed to and made plans for me to visit Seattle that weekend. Overall it was a very productive conversation.

- - -

Classes on Friday dragged on far too slowly. By the time my new third period auto shop class was dismissed I had completely lost my focus. My entire body seemed well aware that after school I would be able to see Alyssa and ever cell was aching for the wait to be over. I was practically a zombie through lunch and my afternoon classes.

When the final bell rang, releasing me from my loveless prison, I practically jumped out of my seat. Of course that provoked hysterical laughter from Quil and Embry but by that point I could hardly care that I looked insane. Quil's laughter ceased before Embry's did. I'm sure that was because he knew exactly what I was going through. He didn't get to see Claire everyday either. They didn't even bother to ask what I was in such a hurry for I'm certain they knew exactly where I was headed.

I had worked it out with Sam that I would have Fridays off unless there were extenuating circumstances, i.e. a leech on the loose, an emergency with the pack, or someone else needed me to cover for them. Having Fridays free had been part of Alyssa and my plan. Each Friday either I would go see her or she would come to La Push for the weekend. Either way were had agreed to make a solid effort to see each other _at least_ once a week.

I don't know if our plan would have gone as smoothly if the alpha didn't have an imprint of his own. When I talked to Sam about our Friday plan he was a little hesitant, to say the least. I ended up convincing him when I reminded him what it was like before Emily moved to La Push from the Makah reservation. That was exactly what I needed and he agreed pretty quickly after the reminder.

We decided that Jared and Kim's system of answering the phone would work pretty well. Of course that meant I had to get a phone myself so when I went to visit her that weekend we were going to go get a prepaid phone with the money I had saved from working at the inn.

The run to Seattle was miserable but well worth it. As typical of Washington it was pouring buckets the entire time I was running. It didn't make it any easier that I had to carry a backpack in my mouth for the entire hour and a half run.

I was taking some extra clothes with me to leave at Alyssa's place. I figured if I was going to be there almost every weekend it would be easier if I just had clothes there so I didn't have to bother to bring a full outfit every time.

I made it to Alyssa's apartment by four o'clock easily. I was waiting outside of her door again when Angela and Kelly walked around the corner. I couldn't help but laugh a little at their faces when they saw me. I'm sure they thought I was some kind of stalker by this point.

"Good afternoon ladies." I greeted them in a chipper tone that matched my mood.

"Hi Jacob, what are you doing here?" Angela asked me as she looked at me warily.

"Oh Alyssa told me to meet her here at four so, here I am." She didn't have a chance to retort like I could tell she wanted to because she was cut off with Alyssa's squeal of delight.

"Jake! You're here already?!" She ran down the short hallway and into my awaiting arms.

"Of course I am. You said four, right?"

"mmhmm" She kissed my cheek then looked up, noticing for the first time that we weren't alone. "Oh hey guys. You've both met my boyfriend Jake, right?"

They both let out synchronized yeses. Angela's face held genuine concern but Kelly's only held curiosity.

"So how did you two meet? I mean it's just kind of ironic to see you here Jacob." Alyssa looked up at me questioningly.

I answered her unspoken question in a low voice. "Angela is friends with Bella."

"Oh, that is a weird coincidence." Alyssa noted. I had told her the unedited version about what happened with Bella, Edward, and I soon after I told her the truth about me.

Angela looked genuinely surprised that I had told Alyssa anything about Bella. "Jake told you about Bella?"

"Of course why wouldn't he?" I could tell Alyssa was starting to get annoyed with where the line of conversation was heading.

Angela caught on to Alyssa's souring mood and tried to defuse the situation while at the same time getting her warning message across. "Oh no I didn't mean that he wouldn't. I just heard that he was pretty broken up about Bella and Edward's engagement and it was only a few months ago so . . ." she stopped talking for a second. It seemed as if she was trying to find a way to word her thoughts without causing any waves. "I just didn't know that Jacob was even back in town."

It was quite obvious that Angela Webber thought I was using Alyssa as a rebound for Bella. I would have been furious had it not been for the fact that she was showing genuine concern for her. She was only looking out for the well being of Alyssa's heart and I could never be mad at someone for being good to my angel.

Throughout this display Kelly remained quiet. Her eyes were alight with the fresh gossip and the head was bouncing back and forth as if she were watching a tennis match.

Alyssa must have picked up the same intentions from Angela because she relaxed considerable during her speech. "Jacob doesn't have any secrets from me Angela. I know all about Bella. There's no need to worry. We met in Canada at my family's inn this summer. Then we came back down here together." She looked at me and smiled. The love flooding from her eyes was clear. I smiled at her happiness and kissed the tip of her nose.

"Well good" she seemed to be happy with the explanation presented to her. "I'll see you guys later. I have some homework I need to get done before tonight."

Kelly and Angela turned toward their door and Alyssa and I went to hers. Kelly and Alyssa had made it inside and Angela was just about to walk through the door when I stopped her.

"Hey Angela, thanks."

"For what?" She must have been pretty confused as to why someone she had just questioned would be thanking her.

"For looking out for Alyssa, you're a good friend. I just wanted to tell you that I really do love her with all my heart."

She must have seen something in my face that made her believe me because her expression softened and she cocked her head to the side and sighed. "Sorry I doubted you Jacob."

I nodded my head and smiled at her. "Have a good evening." I made my way into the small apartment where Alyssa was waiting for me.

Alyssa was standing in the small kitchen when I walked in. She was putting an enormous pot of water on the stove to boil and there were five boxes of Mac-n-cheese sitting on the counter top. She heard me close the door and turned around to look at me.

"So what do you want to after we eat a gourmet meal?" she asked with a chuckle while walking over to me and leaning her head against my chest. We both sighed in contentment.

"As far as I'm concerned we can stay like this forever, but if you had something else in mind I'm alright with that too." We stood there for a little longer while she thought about what she wanted to do.

We were both lifted from our thoughts with a jolt when we heard the loud sizzle of the water boiling over from the stove. "Oh crap!" Alyssa exclaimed and ran over to the stove to move the pot from the burner. Once things were calmed down again she put the water back on the burner and dumped in the noodles.

"I'm staying over here. You make me lose focus." She stated while pointing at me with accusation.

"Fair enough…" I made my way over to the counter, sitting on the edge, watching her stir the macaroni. "Did you figure out what you wanted to do tonight?"

"Actually I was thinking we could go out. There's a floor party going on downstairs tonight. Everyone opens up their doors and we all get to know each other. I thought it sounded fun."

She was just dumping the contents of the pot into a strainer so I grabbed a couple bowls out of the cupboard and sat them on the counter next to where I had been sitting. "That sounds like fun…" I took my spot on the counter and waited for dinner.

"You don't seem very excited. We can just hang out here and watch movies if you want. I just thought it would be a good for me to meet people."

"No, we can go. Sure. I just didn't think you would want your dorky high school boyfriend going to college stuff with you."

She stopped mid scoop in dishing up her bowl and put the pot back on the stove. She spun around and grabbed my face and pulled me down so I was eye level with her. "Jacob Black, don't you _dare_ start that. You know damn well that I don't care how old you are. Besides you know better than anyone that you look _at least_ five or six years older than me."

She was right. I couldn't even try to argue with it. We had discussed, in detail that I didn't look my age. Alyssa and Angela—if she was even planning to be there—would be the only people who know how old I really was. I also had to accept that it was a good thing for Alyssa to meet people and make new friends.

"You're right, what's new? Of course we should go to the party."

"Really?" Her face lit up with excitement. With that smile I knew it wasn't going to be possible for me to deny her anything . . . ever.

"Yes really, now let's eat. I'm withering away over here." She pulled me into a kiss and then turned around and went back to serving dinner.

After her one and my five bowls of Mac-n-cheese was gone Alyssa decided it was time for us to get ready for the night. Since the party didn't start until about eight and it was only five we were going to get dressed then walk around campus.

Alyssa came out of the bathroom dressed and needless to say she looked incredible. She had on a pair of light wash Lucky jeans and a low cut gray tank top. She looked absolutely breathtaking but she didn't seem to feel the same way. She held her arms out and asked. "What do you think? My friend Maggie bought this for me before I left but this is the first time I've worn it. I don't know if I like it."

"Are you kidding me? You look phenomenal." She didn't look convinced. I wasn't really sure why she was so self conscious at that moment. "Come here sweetie. If you don't wear that you don't have to. You always look beautiful."

Her lips twisted up into a small smile and she walked over to me. I wrapped my arms around he shoulders at the same time she draped hers around my waist. At that moment I realized just what was probably making Alyssa uncomfortable.

"Hmmm, good thing I'm here or you might get cold." The shirt in question was almost completely backless. I was a little surprised that Alyssa even owned a shirt like that. From everything I had seen in the time I had known her she always dressed pretty conservatively.

Alyssa giggled and looked up at me. "Funny Jake, I look insane. I should change." She made a move to get out of my arms but I wasn't having any of that. I let her out of the tight circle my arms had created but I kept a hold of hands.

"Alyssa West, don't you _dare_ start that. You know damn well that I think you're the most beautiful women in world. Besides you know better than anyone that you could wear this or the wife-beater and boxer, that _I know_ you stole from me, or an ball gown and I'll love you just the same." I couldn't help using her own phrasing against her.

Alyssa was blushing feverishly and wouldn't meet my eye contact. I couldn't stand it when she wouldn't listen to my praise. I lifted in chin easily with one finger and kissed her softly. "I love you."

"I love you too. Now go get ready… It will end up being a short walk after this."

I left the room to put on a set of clothes that wasn't filthy from the run. When I came back out into the main room it was about seven and Alyssa was on the phone. It was the tail end of the conversation but it sounded like she was talking to Skip about her first couple days.

"Alright daddy, I have to get going. I'm going to a 'get to know you' thing with some friends . . . yeah I met a few people. The girls who live next door are really nice . . ." She walked over to the door and extended her arm as far as she could. Then she knocked on surface. "Oh dad, someone's here. I really have to go . . . Yeah; I'll talk to Jake later tonight. I'll be sure to tell him you said hello . . . mmhmm, I love you too dad. Talk to you later." She hung up the phone and turned around to look at me.

I was standing in the doorway with my mouth agape. "Well liar, liar pants on fire."

"Nope, I didn't lie. I was saving both of our lives. I don't think my dad would appreciate the thought of you staying here and everything I said was true."

"Someone's here. I really have to go?"

"Technically I didn't say someone was knocking on the door and you're here so it wasn't a lie." I guess she had a point but it was still funny to see the sneaky side of Alyssa every once in a while.

"Whatever you say there Pinocchio, we better head out. Are you ready to go?"

"Yes sir. Since there isn't much to this outfit you will have to keep me warm. I hope you're up for the challenge."

"I think I can handle it."

- - -

Even though I didn't like her living so far away I had to admit that her campus was pretty. Since she hadn't been there long herself we didn't exactly know where anything was. She showed me the buildings with her classes in them and the student union building.

We were peacefully walking around campus and talking; before we knew it, it was eight-thirty. I would have been happy to just stay by ourselves but Alyssa was excited to meet new people so we headed back to her building. Since we were on the opposite end of campus and Alyssa's legs are much shorter than mine, it took a good twenty minutes or better to get back to her building.

When we got to the parking lot right outside the building we could already see that the party was in full swing. Alyssa's eyes got wide. I don't think she was expecting quite that many people to be there. I didn't know what to expect either. They definitely didn't have parties like this in La Push.

There were people everywhere. Almost every door on the first floor was open and people were crowded into each room. Most people had either some kind of bottle or a red party cup in their hand. There were at least four different stereo systems playing four different songs along the length of the hall.

The noise was intense to my sensitive ears but I had been in louder environments. Bella's graduation party last June for example was like being inside of a speaker. It seemed like at the far end of the hall there were people spending their time talking instead of just drinking. I spotted Angela, Kelly, and a guy I assumed to Ben. They were grouped together at the end of the hall.

I had to stoop down so I could talk directly into Alyssa's ear if there was any hope of her hearing me over the annoying rap music. "Hey, your friends are at the end of the hall." She was too short to have seen them so I started to direct her through the people.

When we made it to where they were standing Kelly pulled Alyssa into an awkward hug and squealed into her ear. "Isn't this great? Our first college party!"

Alyssa nodded her head. While she was trying to pull out of Kelly's death grip I heard Angela whisper to her boyfriend. "See she's just like Jessica." I stifled the laugh at Bella's old friend Jessica, who, from past stories, was quite the excitable chatterbox.

On her way back into my arms Kelly caught Alyssa by the wrist and asked her if she wanted to go get a drink with her. Alyssa looked questioningly up at me. I just shrugged my shoulders. I bent down so she could hear me "You're older than me remember. You don't need my permission."

She smiled at me and shook her head. "Do you want anything?" She didn't bother to yell. She knew I could hear her.

"Why Miss West, are you trying to corrupting a minor?"

"I guess I am." Her smile was brilliant. I was pretty sure Sam would kill me when he found out but I wasn't on patrol and I there is no way that one beer would do anything to effect me.

"Sure"

"Alright, don't worry about me. I'll be back in a minute." She went up on her tip toes and kissed me before Kelly yanked her away from me and in the direction of one of the apartments. I was really starting to dislike that girl.

That left Angela, Ben and I alone to wait for the others to return. They looked less than comfortable. Ben was looking at me warily and Angela just looked uncomfortable about her surroundings. We didn't talk much while Alyssa and Kelly were gone. I don't think they were very into the party scene but I wasn't either for that matter.

About ten minutes after they left the girls came back carrying drinks. Kelly had a colorful bottle and a soda and Alyssa had a colorful girly drink in a bottle and a beer in one hand and a soda in the other. They handed the sodas off to Angela and Ben, who thanked them appreciatively. She handed me the beer and nestled back against my chest.

Not wanting to stand in the same place all night Alyssa and I went around the party talking to different people. It seemed to me that everyone was having a good time. Unsurprisingly it didn't take long for Angela and Ben to find an excuse to leave. The rest of the night was spent talking and laughing.

At one point I took Alyssa's cell phone out of my pocket to check the time only to be blown away that it was a quarter to one. It was no wonder why the party was starting to thin out. It was late and most people were starting to stumble back toward their own dorms.

Alyssa had been getting a little tipsy herself. I had only had a couple beers and they hadn't had much of an effect on me. Alyssa on the other hand had several of the colorful drinks and was starting to feel it.

I must say it was more than adorable how she was trying to be discreet about needing to lean on me to stand straight. I figured it was about time for us to head back to her place too. I wasn't sure how much longer she would be able to stand straight, even with my help.

"Hey baby, I think we should head back."

She looked up at me with half closed eyes and a lazy smirk. "Alright _baby_." Then she proceeded to stand there and laugh instead of walking back toward the stairs. "Jakey?" Hmmm that was new.

"What sweetie?" I asked, chuckling at her new nickname for me.

With a huge smile that made it clear that she thought it was the best idea since sliced bread she asked for a piggyback ride. At first I was worried about her falling but then I decided it would be easier then letting her maneuver the stairs on her own.

I knelt down so I was all the way on the ground. She climbed on easily enough and I held both of her hands around my neck with one of mine and twisted her legs around my waste as best as I could. Balancing her on my back with my free arm I made my way up to her door. For the duration of the short walk Alyssa was laughing uncontrollably.

When we made it to her door she wouldn't let go of my neck so I had to grab the key out of her pocket myself. With the door unlocked I got her inside and locked the deadbolt behind me. She still was refusing to let go of me. I eventually had no other choice than to pry her hands away from my neck and let her gently fall onto her bed.

I tossed the wife-beater and boxers that she wore to bed next to her and asked her to change while I was in the other room. After I had changed into a pair of cut off sweats I came back into the room having given her sufficient time to switch clothes. That isn't exactly how things worked out though.

Alyssa was still lying on the bed in the same exact position I left her in with the clothes laying untouched next to her. I walked over to her and sat her up. She wasn't quite asleep yet.

"Baby, do you want to sleep in that or are you going to change?"

"That would ruin the shirt. You have to help me though." She was pitifully tapping my forearm with her hand ask she spoke.

Of course life would wait for my girlfriend to be inebriated before she asked me to help her out of her clothes. I swear karma hates me sometimes._ I can be mature. I can be mature. I can be mature._ My new personal mantra ran through my head the entire time I helped Alyssa get ready for bed. It seemed to work well for me.

Once we were both in pajamas I tucked Alyssa into bed and pulled the covers around her securely. With her asleep I climbed into bed and let my exhaustion from the days events take over. I drifted into a dreamless sleep.

- - -

I woke up the next morning before Alyssa, which was definitely a first. I filled a glass with water and set it on her nightstand with a couple aspirins. While waiting for her to wake up I started a pop of coffee and took a quick shower.

Turning the water off, I heard a light groan from the other room. My poor hung-over angel was awake. I got dressed in a hurry and walked into the room avoiding any excess noise. She was sitting up in bed clutching her head in both of her hands. The aspirins were gone along with half the glass of water.

I sat down next to her rubbing her back and trying not to smile. I had to admit it was a little funny. "Good morning."

"Hmmm for who?" she asked without lifting her head.

"I'm sorry you don't feel well. Do you want something to eat . . . I know how to make eggs and I've mastered toast."

She let out a strangled chuckled and looked up at me, squinting her eyes against the light streaming in from the window.

"No eggs. Toast sounds fine though." I got up to make her some toast but she grabbed my arm. "Did I get sick last night?"

I couldn't help but laugh at her a little bit. "No you didn't get sick."

"Good, can I have a kiss?"

"No need to ask." I sat back down next to her and she kissed me. She smiled against my lips and pulled away.

"I like waking up with you here."

"Good, because it will be happening a lot." I stood up and went into the kitchen area to make her toast. She came over to the counter and took a seat. I handed her food to her and filled the toaster again. She ate her food without much enthusiasm and I had some too.

We were talking about what we were going to do for the day when her cell phone started to ring sharply from next to me. Alyssa clamped her hands over hear ears and shut her eyes tight so I took the liberty to answer for her.

"Hello?"

"Hello, is Alyssa West available?"

"Let me see if she's here. May I ask whose calling?"

"My name's Roberta. I'm from Portland Memorial Hospital."

"Oh." I pulled the phone away from my ear. "Alyssa, I think you should take this call."

- - -

_Let me know what you think… I know Angela may seem a little ooc but I thought the topic of Bella would definitely come up. I only got ONE REVIEW for the last chapter… very disconcerting. Please any review is a good one and they make me write faster... _

_If you're interested here are Alyssa's clothes. _

Alyssa's Jeans:

/Product.aspx?pLBX14019&l00020001010500000000&km&pn1

Alyssa's Top:

store./item.do?categoryID1785&itemID49437&sizeFilter&colorFilter&brandFilter#


	17. Home for the Hospital

I still don't own Twilight… trust me its better that way

_I still don't own Twilight… trust me its better that way._

_- - -_

Alyssa's head shot in my direction at the somber tone in my voice. "Who is it?" She asked.

"She said her name's Roberta. She's from the Portland Memorial Hospital." Alyssa's eyes grew to the size of diner plates and she grabbed the phone out of my hand in a blind panic.

"H-hello?" I couldn't hear the other side of the conversation so I only had Alyssa's facial expressions and responses to tell me what was going on. "Y-yes, this is Alyssa West . . . What's going on? . . . Oh my God . . . Are they okay?" She was starting to cry at this point so I snaked my arms around her waist and pulled her onto my lap. She spoke through her sobs. "I'll be there as soon as I can . . . Thank you."

She hung up the phone turned into me and wept. I wasn't sure what was going on still but I knew that she needed me and it sounded like we were on our way to Portland. I let her sit there for a few minutes without disturbing her but eventually I needed to know what happened.

"Baby, what's going on?"

She lifted her head from the shoulder to look at me with tear stained cheeks. "M-m-my d-dad and nana were in a car accident. They're in the hospital."

_Oh no_. Skip and 'Nana' were the only family members Alyssa had left. If something happened to either one of them it would crush her. We needed to get to Oregon and fast. I set her down on her feet and stood up behind her. I started to walk toward the bathroom. When we were outside the door I turned her around so she was facing me.

"You go shower. I'll pack a bag for you real quick and call my dad and Sam. We'll head out as soon as possible." I kissed her forehead and she sighed.

"You don't have to go Jacob. I could just take your car. You shouldn't miss school."

"Not happening. I'm not leaving you for a second. Now go shower. We have a long drive ahead of us."

As she was showering I pulled the well used duffle bag out of her closet and started filling it with everything that she may need. When the bag was filled with everything that my male mind could think of I set in on the bed so she could check it out when she was done showering. I heard the shower turn off and went to knock on the door.

"Hey honey, I'm going to go outside to use your phone. I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Alright" She didn't sound like herself and it made me worry about her even more than before her shower. It was almost as if she wasn't all there, like there was some kind of fog in her mind.

I shook the unpleasant thoughts from my mind dragged the phone off the counter and went outside to talk. I called my dad first. Though he didn't really try to tell me what to do anymore it was still important that he knew were I was, especially since I would probably be missing a few days of school.

Dad picked up after a couple rings.

"Hello?"

"Dad, it's me. Listen I can't come home right away. I might miss some school. Will cover for me?"

"Jake, you promised you would go to school and-"

I cut him off before he could go any further. "It's Skip dad. He and Alyssa's grandmother got in a car accident. They're in the hospital. She needs to head down there and I can't leave her."

"Oh son, I'm so sorry." If my dad knew anything it was car accidents. My mom died in a car accident when I was eight. Billy never really got over it. "Of course you need to go with her. I'll call the school and tell them there was a family emergency. You give her a hug for me, okay Jacob?"

"Absolutely dad, thank you and I love you."

"Me too kid."

"I'll call again when we get to Portland."

"Alright."

I hung up the phone and dialed Sam and Emily's number. It rang several times before someone answered. It was Emily and it sounded like she had ran to the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey Emily, its Jake. Is Sam around?"

"Oh no sorry, him and the guys decided to go for a run. Do you want to leave a message?"

"hmmm I'll try to get a hold of him but if I cant can you tell him that I'm not going to be home for awhile. At least a couple days I'd guess."

The ever perceptive Emily knew right away that I wasn't alright. "Jake what's wrong?"

"Umm, Skip and Alyssa's grandmother got into a car accident. They're in the hospital and we need to head down there. I'm not sure how long we'll be gone. Please tell Sam I'm sorry."

"Don't you, worry about Sam. He'll understand. Go make sure everything is fine. Keep us posted."

"Will do, Emily. I'll talk to you later." I hung up the phone and walked back to the door.

When I made it back inside Alyssa was sitting at the counter again staring at the floor with silent tears streaming down her face. I walked over to her and put my arms around her making her jump.

"You startled me." Even to me it was obvious that her thoughts were hundreds of miles away and quite possibly years in the past.

"Sorry." We were both whispering, though I didn't know why.

"Umm, I'll grab some food for the ride. You'll get hungry. You carry the bags down to the car okay?"

"Sure." I kissed the top of her head. "Everything's going to be fine okay? It'll work out." She nodded her heand and hopped off of her stool.

With the bags loaded and the apartment locked up Alyssa and I headed toward Portland. Alyssa looked understandably shaken and stared unseeingly out the window for most of the drive. We rarely talk, and when we did I was only responded to with one word answers. I stayed silent throughout the drive with my left hand on the steering wheel and my right hand holding hers, satisfied to be rubbing soothing circles over her pale skin with my thumb for the time being.

Eventually making our way into Portland Alyssa had to direct me where to go. I had never been there and wasn't exactly sure if Alyssa would want to stop by her nana's house or first or go straight to the hospital.

Following Alyssa's directions I parked in a large parking garage near the elevators. Stepping out of the car and headed toward main hospital entrance Alyssa grasped my forearm with both of her hands and gave a solid tug. Naturally this had practically no physical effect on be but I stopped none the less.

Turning to look at Alyssa I could see tear starting to pool in her blue eyes. "I'm scared Jake. They're all the family I have left."

Pulling her hands into mine I looked her in the eyes. "I know you're scared but whatever happens . . . we're in this together. All the way."

Nodding her head she started walking toward the entrance again. Once we were through the large glass doors the overwhelming smell of disinfectant assaulted my senses. The neutral colors that covered ever surface were only broken up by the brightly colored directional arrows marked out on the floor.

We rushed to the reception desk in the center of the lobby. A tall woman with long brown hair was sitting behind the desk rapidly typing and talking on the phone. Racing to the desk for information Alyssa was desperate to know where her family was.

"I'm looking for James and Nancy West." She sounded absolutely panicked. The woman behind the desk paused what she was doing for the briefest of seconds to give us a sad smile. Searching the computer system she found their information.

"May I ask how you're related?"

"James is my father and Nancy is my grandmother. Please tell me where they are, what's wrong with them, anything."

"It's alright dear, calm down. The Wests are in the ICU." She stood up so she could direct us from behind the counter. "You're going to want to go all the way down that hall until you hit the elevators. Take it to the fourth floor. Once you're out of the elevator turn right and follow the red arrows."

Alyssa shot off in the direction of the elevators before she could thank the receptionist. I said our 'thank you' and then took off after her. I was able to catch up easily while she waited for the elevator. I draped my arm over her shoulder to calm her down. It seemed to work, slightly.

After the arduously slow elevator ride we easily found the ICU reception desk. We were eventually told that Skip was in a recovery room and we would be allowed to see him but Nancy wasn't allowed to have visitors at the moment.

Skip was in room 436A of the ICU ward. His room was light green. In my opinion green shouldn't be used in hospitals. It screams illness to me. An off white curtain blocked our view of the room's occupants.

Alyssa held a strong grip on around my waist as we walked in. I lightly cleared my throat and knocked on the door. I didn't want to wake him up if he was asleep. I didn't know what was wrong with him yet but I was guessing rest was a good thing.

"Daddy?" Alyssa's soft voice broke through the silence. I heard him shifting in his bed and nodded to Alyssa, letting her know he was awake.

We made our way around the privacy curtain to see a broken and fragile Skip. I tried to hide my rising panic. I pretty much sucked at it though. He's large appearance and even bigger personality made it hard for him to ever look fragile. In that moment his frailty was frightening.

Skip was lying in the hospital bed with a thin blanket covering him from the waist down. He had an IV hooked to one arm. There was also a heart monitor beeping quietly in the corner and another machine that was helping him breath on the left side of the bed.

Alyssa immediately went to his side, holding his hand and telling him how much she loved him. I deliberately stayed back a few paces. Though I knew that Skip held no animosity toward me it was still a private moment between a father and his daughter.

We didn't have to wait long for the doctor to come into the room. From what was gathered from the scene and the injuries, Skip and Nancy were driving toward home when a drunk driver hit them head on. Skip had four broken ribs and a collapsed lung.

Nana's injuries were threatening her life. Her age was a big concern with her healing. According to Dr. Dickinson she had a spinal injury as well as internal bleeding. The blood loss was severe when she was admitted and emergency surgery had helped but she was still hurt badly and they didn't know if she was going to fully recover. She had yet to wake up from surgery.

We spent most of the day in Skip's depressing hospital room. Alyssa and I talked while Skip nodded along. Every once in a while he would take off the oxygen mask that was fixed to his face and say something. His voice was raspy and he was easily winded but it was good to hear him talking.

An hour or so into our visit I went to the ICU reception desk to see if Alyssa could go see her grandmother yet. They refused to give me any information because I wasn't family, a detail I hadn't even considered until it was pointed out to me. After that Alyssa went to the desk every half hour or so to see if her grandmother was able to have visitors yet.

It was around six that evening when they relented and allowed Alyssa to see her grandmother. I offered to go with her but she wanted me to stay with Skip. She had said that her grandmother was still asleep and she would be fine.

So I was sitting alone with Skip in his hospital room while Alyssa was checking on her nana. I wasn't exactly sure what to talk to him about. It surprised me little when he took off his mask and talked to me first.

"I was surprised to see you here Jake. It's a long way for you to come just to see me."

"Oh no, Alyssa needed to get here and I didn't want her going alone. Plus believe it or not I owe you more than you know." He rolled his eyes at me. I realized about then that there really was never going to be a way to show him how much my summer spent at the inn meant to me. Because of him I meet Alyssa, Because of him I found my reason for being.

After that it didn't take long for us to find lighter topics of conversation to stick to. Two hours had passed and Alyssa walked into the room with tears streaming down her face. I shot out of my chair to see if she was okay.

"What's wrong honey?" She looked at me and then over to her dad. Skips face instantly filled with terror.

"They don't know if nana is going to wake up." A wrinkle of sadness set itself deeply into Skip's already aging face. I couldn't stop the wave of pity that flooded my body in that moment. I knew what it was to loose a mother. It was hell.

For a long time I just held Alyssa and let her cry. We didn't speak and she didn't look up at me until my stomach interrupted her sobs with a prominent growl. She reluctantly chuckled and pulled away from me to look at my face.

"We should eat. You haven't had a decent meal since last night." She was whispering now. Skip had fallen asleep in the middle of Alyssa's crying. "Let's go down to the cafeteria and get some food."

I agreed and we headed down to the little hospital restaurant. We bought our food and found a table at the edge of the room.

We ate slowly trying to savor the moment of peace that seemed to capture us whenever we were in each other's presence.

"I'm scared Jake." Alyssa noted out of nowhere.

"I know this is hard. I don't know what's going to happen any more than you do. I can, however, promise that no matter what I'm going to be right here with you."

"I know that and believe me without you here I would have lost it long ago. I haven't really gotten a chance to thank you for coming with me."

"It's not necessary. You need me here then I'm here. Nothing is more important than you."

We slipped back into a comfortable silence after that and finished our less than appetizing meals. We were both finished but we stayed in our little booth quietly entrapped in our personal thoughts. She absent-mindedly played with my fingers while she reflected. Alyssa was yet again the first one to break the silence.

"What if nana doesn't make it? I don't want her to die." She asked, looking at me as if I held the answers to all life's problems. Little did she know, that was her talent, not mine.

"I'm not really sure how to answer that . . . I remember when my mom died. Everyone kept telling me 'she's in a better place now' I would make me so angry. I didn't understand how she could be in a better place and just leave the rest of us behind." Alyssa was watching me with curious eyes she lifted her small hand to my face. She wiped away a tear that I didn't know had escaped with her thumb.

"I asked Rachel about it right after the funeral. She and Rebecca took me to their room and sat me down on one of the beds. They explained to me that mom didn't purposely leave us to go to a better place. That she would never want to be away from us. God needed her and to make up for making her leave us so soon he gave her a gift." I stopped talking and took a deep breath. I had never been big on discussing what happened to my mom. It was hard to talk about her death

"It's okay. You don't have to tell me." Alyssa whispered from across the table. I squeezed her hand and went on with what I was saying.

"'Becca told me 'mom gets to see each of us all the time now. She won't miss a minute of our live. God needed her help and you know how mom likes to help everyone.' We didn't leave their room all night. We were talking to each other and to mom until we all fell asleep on one bed. Dad found us like that next morning, still in our clothes from the church and everything. He told us that mommy was always watching us and every time it rains she's missing me and wishing she was with us." Tears were freely streaming down my face by this point but I couldn't care less.

Squeezing my hand and giving me a small smile Alyssa god up to sit next to in the booth. "Your mom loves you Jake. Look at La Push weather. That proves it." She hugged me and we just sat like that for a few minutes.

Alyssa whispered in a scared voice "Does she know I love her? Can she hear me when I talk to her? I just wish I knew what she was thinking."

She was crying again but wanted to go see Skip before visiting hours ended. One of us could have stayed with him however neither of us wanted to be without the other that night. After we said our goodbyes to Skip and checking on Nancy again we gave the cell phone number to the front desk and asked them to call if there was any change with either of the patience.

We were staying at the house where Alyssa was raised. Nana's place was beautiful. It had a big wrap around porch with a swinging bench in the front. It looked like a nice suburban neighborhood with manicured lawns and children's toys in the front yard of most houses.

The look on Alyssa's face when we got there made it look like she was torn between being happy about being home and crying because Nancy wasn't there. It broke my heart.

I had been thinking about Alyssa's wish since we left the cafeteria. I knew there was one way I could make it happen but it would take a lot of compassion from someone who probably hated me still. If it made Alyssa happy I was willing to do anything though.

Once we were settled Alyssa jumped into the shower to clean the remnants of the grimy day off of her. While she was busy with that I took the cell phone out to the swing I had noticed when we first pulled up. I would have called my dad first but I decided that I wanted to get all my groveling done before Alyssa found me so I dialed the number to the Clearwater's house.

"Hello?" Leah answered the phone. Great explaining myself to her wasn't exactly what I needed at the moment.

"Hey Leah, is Seth around?"

"Yeah, what would _you_ want to talk to the pipsqueak about?" That nickname didn't really seem to fit Seth anymore he definitely didn't look like the 15 year old kid that he was.

"I just have to ask him a question."

"Alright, here he is." I could hear her yelling for Seth in the background. "_Seth, the phone is for you." _

"_Can you just take a message I just got home."_ He sounded exhausted even over the phone. I couldn't decide if it was a good thing or a bad thing for what I was about to ask.

"_No, it's Jake!"_

I heard him run across the house and grab the phone. "_Well, why didn't you say so before?"_ Sometime I felt bad for how much that kid looked up to me. There certainly had to be better role models out there than me.

"Hey Jake! What's up?"

"I need a favor from you." I decided that being blunt would be best in this situation.

"Anything for a brother, what do ya need? Is Alyssa's family okay?"

"No, not really. That's kinda where the favor comes in." I was nervous to ask for the help I knew I needed. It would take a lot of trust on Seth's part.

"What is it?"

"They don't know if Alyssa's grandma going to wake up and . . . Alyssa just wants to know what she's thinking. To make sure she knows she loves her and that she's not scared."

"o…kay." I could almost picture the confused face. "Maybe I'm missing something. What can I do?"

"I-I" one deep breath later "I need Edward's phone number."

"_You_ want to call Edward? Edward Cullen?" I heard a crash in the background. I assumed it was Leah dropping something in shock.

"Yeah. It's for Alyssa. I won't start a fight or any trouble. I swear Seth. She's just so unhappy." I started out pleading and ended mumbling.

"Alright, I trust you." He gave me the phone number and wished me luck. He didn't know any better than I did what kind of reaction I was going to receive when I called. "Can I give you some advice?"

"Couldn't hurt. You know him better than I do."

"Trust him. He really is a good guy. If he agrees to help you I'd see if he could bring Alice with him. It might help if you know what's coming."

"Thanks Seth. You're a good man." I hung up the phone and looked down at the piece of paper with the leech's number written on it. If nothing else proved it, this action showed that I would do absolutely anything for Alyssa.

I dialed the number and waited. For the second time in a week I was terrified over a phone call. A female voice answered the phone?

"Hello?"

"Bells, is that you?"

_Please tell me whatcha think. _

_I don't usually do this but the two songs that helped me through this chapter were _

_-The Baby- Blake Shelton _

_-Holes in the Floor of Heaven- Steve Wariner _


	18. House Guests

I still own nothing

_I still own nothing. It's probably better that way._

- - -

"_Hello?" _

"_Bells, is that you?"_

Her voice had changed drastically in the few months since I had last seen her. It was more musical now, like she was singing instead of talking. My only guess was that it was some freaky vampire thing.

"Yes, who is this?"

"This. . . This is Jake. How are you?"

"Jake?!"

"Don't tell me you forgot about me already?" I let the smile color my voice. It was obvious that she was happy about my call.

"Of course not. I'm just shocked. I was pretty sure you hated me."

"Naw, I was just upset. Sorry I missed the wedding. I was out of town."

"Yeah Seth told me. How are you now?" Before it would have killed me to hear the concern in her voice and know that it wasn't enough to make her mine. Now I was just glad to have my friend care about me.

"At the moment I'm not doing so well… that's sort of why I called. I hope you don't mind that Seth gave me the number."

"Oh not at all. I was sort of hoping we could talk again someday. I honestly didn't expect it to be this soon."

"Since we're being honest, it probably wouldn't have been but I need a favor."

"I'll try but what could I possibly do for you?"

"It's not actually you that can help me. It's Edward." I was starting to get worried again that he wouldn't want to help me out. Bella didn't seem to be upset with me and now that I've found my soul mate and wasn't after his maybe Edward would be okay with me too.

"Is something wrong ? Is it Billy? Or Charlie?" She had a slight edge of panic to her voice by this point.

"Calm down. Everyone you know is okay . . .Oh man this is harder than I thought."

"What do you mean everyone I know?" I was glad that she caught the clarification in my response. It was true. Not everyone was okay, just the people that she cared about.

"Well that's the thing Bells. I imprinted. Right after your wedding actually." My explanation was cut off with a sharp intake of unneeded breath.

"You what?"

"I imprinted. It's kind of a funny story actually. In a way I should be thanking you."

"Tell me all about her!" She was excited. That was good. I was hoping she wasn't going to be jealous like she said she might. That wouldn't have helped the situation.

"Her name's Alyssa and she is beautiful and smart. She goes to the U.W."

I heard the screen door close and looked over to see Alyssa walking over to me. She sat down beside me and curled into my chest.

"That's amazing. I'm so happy for you. I was hoping that you would imprint soon. So does she know everything yet?"

"Yeah, she knows everything. Alyssa's actually here with me now." Alyssa lifted her head off my chest and mouthed 'Who's that?' She looked really confused so I decided to explain to both of them what was going on. "So here's the deal. Alyssa didn't ask me to call you. In fact she is looking at me like a crazy person because I haven't told her who I'm talking to yet."

I went on to tell her about the accident and that what I needed Edward for. I did so without saying his or Bella's name so Alyssa still looked a bit confused by the whole conversation.

"You know what, I'll go talk to Edward about it. I'm not sure if he will want to do it but friends help each other out and I still want to be your friend Jacob."

"I want to be your friend too Bella." Alyssa let out a small gasp and I heard a tinkling giggle from Bella.

"I was wondering if you were ever going to say my name out loud."

"Yeah well, I have some explaining to do now so can you call me back on this number after you talk to Edward?"

"Will do." I hung up the phone and looked over to Alyssa who looked more than a little shocked.

"Care to explain why you just told your vampire ex about all my problems." She didn't look angry which I was supremely thankful for.

"Technically she isn't my ex." I said with a smirk.

"Jacob…"

"Remember I told you about Edward and his whole family?"

"Yeah, why would you call them though? How are a bunch of bloodsuckers supposed help me?"

I chuckled at her question. "You've been hanging around Paul too much." She just stuck her tongue out at me in response. "Well, it didn't matter at the time but some vamps have special talents. Edward, Bella's husband, has one of these special talents. He can read minds."

"Wow" I let that sink in for a second. She was surprisingly good at taking in all the weird information I had thrown her since we met. "So he can read everyone's minds?"

"Everyone but Bella, from how I understand it."

"Hmmm," she thought a little bit longer and then I saw the light bulb in her went on. "You think he could hear nana?"

"That was kind of what I was hoping for."

She was nodding her head slowly as she thought it over. "Okay, but will it be safe for me and nana to be around him?"

"I won't leave your side for a minute, but I trust him."

"Alright, if you trust him, then I trust him."

We sat cuddled up on the porch swing for a long time just listening sounds of crickets and owls. We were both able relax despite our traumatic day. Just about the time Alyssa's breathing had slowed and I was sure she was asleep the phone started vibrating from in my pocket and woke her up. I answered as quickly as I could.

"Hello?"

"Jacob? Its Bella. Did I wake you up? I keep forgetting people are asleep."

"Oh hi Bella. No, I wasn't asleep." Getting used to this Bella was definitely going to take some time. "What did Edward say?"

"He has a few questions. He wants to talk to you."

I swallowed hard. Talking to Bella, even if she was leech, was one thing but talking to Edward may be a little tougher. I just had to remind myself that this was for Alyssa. "Okay put him on."

"Hello, Jacob."

"Edward, so what did you want to ask me?" Small talk with him was still going to be a little tough so I got straight to the point.

"I can't read your mind over the phone so be honest. Is this some kind of ploy?"

"Ploy?" I was genuinely confused by this point. I was asking him to do me a favor. Why would I lie to him?

"The treaty Jacob, you know we broke it. I'm not coming anywhere Forks or you until I know this isn't some kind of scheme to hurt Bella or my family."

Its funny how something can seem so vividly important one minute and then the next minute you forget all about it. That's what happened with the treaty. Before Alyssa that treaty was the only thing keeping me going. Knowing that eventually I would be allowed to hunt down the Cullen clan and rip them to shreds for hurting Bella. Now all I cared about was that they had the ability to help my angel and there was no more ill will toward them.

"This isn't a trick. Believe me; I've done a lot of growing up since your wedding."

"Yes Bella told me you imprinted. I guess congratulations are in order. Does my helping you now mean you're pardoning us for Bella?"

"I personally hold nothing against you. I understand now what it feels like to have one person who you would do anything for." I looked down at Alyssa who was watching me with anxious eyes through the entire conversation. "I won't do anything to harm you while you're with me and when I get back home I'll do my best to get Sam to do the same. That's the best I can do for now."

He deliberated for one quick second before saying "Alright. We'll be there. Where are you?"

"We're in Portland Oregon. They're staying at the Portland Memorial Hospital. Do you want to meet us there or at the house?"

"I think we should meet at the house. Bella is just dying to know Alyssa, if that's okay with you, but I don't want her in the hospital."

I didn't realize that Bella would even be coming. The idea of her meeting Alyssa honestly scared me to death. I wouldn't want to but if she put my angel at risk I would have to take her down. "Is that such a good idea? I remember the newborns. They didn't exactly the optimize control."

"Apparently there's something to be said for knowing what you're getting into. She has complete power over her thirst already. After everything she was afraid of she was the quickest to find control."

"Are you sure? I can't have her in danger Edward?"

"I'm positive Jake. She wouldn't do anything to hurt you. I promise. For some unexplainable reason she likes you."

We talked for a little while longer setting up times to meet and the logistics of their stay. It was somewhat comforting knowing that I wasn't going to have to worry, too much, about Alyssa's neighbors. Bella got back on the phone and said her goodbyes. She asked me to send Alyssa her love and I hung up the phone.

By that point it was late and Alyssa had fallen asleep next to me. I picked her up from where she slept at my side and carried her upstairs to her room. I laid her on the small bed and made my way to the door. She looked comfortable where she was sprawled out across the bed. I didn't want to disturb her if she was happy so I was going to sleep on the couch.

She immediately noticed the missing heat and woke up. "Where do you think you're going?"

"The bed looked to small. I was going to sleep on the couch tonight."

"There is no way this bed is any smaller than the one at your dad's house and we both managed to sleep in that." I had learned early on that Alyssa is most stubborn at night so I didn't even bother to argue with her. Not that I really wanted to anyways.

I walked back over to the bed and lay down. It was easy to sleep with Alyssa close by. I let my stress from the last day and my worries about the next day drift away as I went to sleep.

- - -

Alyssa woke up far too early the next morning if you ask me. I felt her get out of bed so I rolled over so I could say good morning and look at the clock. It was seven o'clock in the morning.

Visiting hours at the hospital didn't start until 8:30 and we had to wait around here for Bella and Edward no matter what. I was about to ask her why she was awake so early when she noticed that I was looking at her.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up. I was just going to go shower real quick."

"Why?"

"What do you mean _why_?"

"Honey its seven you don't have to get up this early."

"There's just so much to do, I need to shower and get ready and I should clean the house up a little. How do you make a vampire feel welcome?"

Already laughing, "I couldn't really tell you. My job is sort of to make them feel unwelcome." I hopped out of bed before she worried herself right out of the room. I circled my arms around her waist and pulled her close to me. "Last time I saw her, Bella was really low key. Edward, well he hated me so I can't help you there."

"I'm serious Jake. I'm nervous."

"Don't be. Come on; let's just lie in bed a little longer. Then if you don't relax we'll both get up and needlessly freak out. Is it a deal?"

"Okay. Deal."

We crawled back into the comfortable bed, both of us knowing there was no hope we would get back to sleep. With the combination of the heat radiating off of me, the soothing circles I was rubbing on her back, and the feather light kisses every few minutes it didn't take long until was Alyssa was a puddle of calm.

I was successfully able to get her to lay there until 8:30. We both decided at that time get up and get ready then. Bella and Edward were due in, from wherever they were living, at ten and we wanted to both be ready by that point.

The closer we got to their arrival time the more nervous Alyssa got. The more nervous she got the more I started to freak out. I was wondering what Bella would look like now that she is a member of the undead. I wondered if she was really in control. I wondered if she would smell just as pungent as her new family. My mind was racing

From upstairs I heard a knock on the front door. I looked over at the clock to see that it was still a quarter till ten. Well at least I wouldn't have to wait in suspense for the next fifteen minutes.

I told Alyssa I would get it and asked her to stay upstairs until I came to get her. Not that her being up one flight of stairs would help much if a thirsty newborn wanted her but it would give me more time to stop her. I wasn't willing to take any unnecessary risks where Alyssa's safety was concerned.

If Bella was in control, like Edward promised that she was, I didn't want my reaction to my new vampire friend to scare Alyssa more than necessary. I thought it was best for everyone if I got a chance to freak out a little before there was an audience.

With a deep breath I hesitantly answered the front door. Stunned wouldn't be the right word for to describe my reaction to the face that greeted me on the other side of the Door. Bella was snow white and her fire read eyes made a startling contrast. I couldn't deny that she still looked like Bella; it was just a more pristine version of Bella.

"Woah!" not the most articulate greeting but it's what was in my head. "Bella, Edward, come on in."

Bella walked into the entry way and grabbed me into a surprisingly painful hug. Of course the embrace only lasted a few seconds before I noticed how much the she reeked. I'm guessing that she came to the same realization about me because her face was scrunched up in disgust. Edward chuckled from the doorway.

"See what I meant all this time. You're best friend here smells horrid."

"You're right" Her face broke into a large smile. "But it's still really good to see him."

"It's really good to see you too Bella. Do me a favor. Stay down wind." I said with a chuckle.

By this point Bella was looking around the room obviously looking for Alyssa. Edward turned to her and explained in a hushed voice. "He has her upstairs, making sure you were in control of yourself." He looked over at me again. "By the way, she's getting somewhat annoyed with waiting."

"I'll go get her." I ran upstairs and into Alyssa's room where she was sitting on the bed nervously tapping her foot. "You ready?"

"Mmhmm" She didn't look _as_ nervous as I expected her to be. I grabbed her hand and we walked down the stairs into the living room where Bella and Edward were waiting for us. Her initial reaction wasn't exactly what I expected.

Fear I would understand, Shock or even awe would have all been understandable responses. She walked right up to Edward and extended her hand out to him. "I'm Alyssa. Thank you so much doing this for me."

Even Edward himself looked a bit taken aback. He recovered before Bella and I had a chance to. "It's lovely to meet you too Miss West." As he lifted her hand up to his mouth to kiss the back of her palm I fought back the instinct to growl at him. I wasn't completely successful. The noise was too low for Alyssa's human ears to detect but Edward still dropped her wrist as if it was burning him.

"Jacob doesn't seem to appreciate my greeting. I'm sorry Jacob. I didn't mean to make you uneasy."

"I'm sorry too. Believe it or not, I'm trying." Alyssa had walked back over to where I was standing. With one kiss on my cheek all of the tensions that were building inside of me floated away. My scowl softened into a relaxed smile.

Bella looked impressed, Edward on the other hand, hearing my thoughts just had a knowing smile on his face. We took our seats around the warm living room after that. Bella was the first to break the awkward silence from her seat next to Edward.

"It's really nice to meet you Alyssa."

"It's nice to meet you too Bella. I've heard so much about you." I didn't miss the small cringe when Alyssa said that.

"Don't worry Bells. It was mostly good." I chuckled at her worry.

We finally found a way to loosen up and have an actual conversation. After sitting around Nancy's living room for about an hour or so we decided to leave for the hospital. Alyssa was starting to get antsy about seeing Skip and her grandmother. Bella wanted to go to the hospital but Edward didn't think that she was ready to test her control in such a large capacity yet and I agreed with him.

"Come on Edward. You've seen me around people. You had no objections when Alice _dragged _me to the mall last week."

"The mall and a hospital are two very different things Bella. The mall for instance is not full of people with open,_ bleeding_ wounds." Bella just rolled her eyes at him. I didn't really understand why she was being so childish. Her staying behind was for the best of everyone.

As the three of us were getting ready to head out the door there was a knock from the entry way. Alyssa just looked at me as if I was supposed to know who it was. She went to answer the door. We were around the corner and couldn't see who it was. I couldn't help but jump when a tiny little pixie of a vampire jumped into the room.

"Boredom is no longer a problem. Alice is here!"

"What are you doing here Alice? Are Edward and I not allowed to go anywhere by ourselves?"

"Of course you are. I just saw that you were sitting around here alone all day and decided to keep you company." The miniature vamp was absolutely giddy.

We were heading out the door when Edward spun around to give Bella a goodbye kiss. I was pretty pleased that it didn't have the old reaction of resentment raging through me. It was simply my best friend getting a kiss from her husband. It was nice to see her happy.

We piled into Edward's Volvo instead of my rabbit and made the lengthy drive to the hospital in mere minutes. I was starting to get supremely annoyed with myself that, Edward's smell, though it still burned my nose and made my system flare with anger; I had no actual desire to phase. I had even less of a craving to kill Edward.

Once at the hospital we made our way to Skip's room first. Alyssa wanted to see if he was feeling any better than he was the day before. When we walked in we saw that his ventilator was missing from the corner and his color was much better. Skip was getting better; I could just hope that Nancy was doing the same.

Not too long after getting there we left Skip to go see Nancy. First walking into the room we heard the now familiar and comforting sound of Nana's steady heartbeat. She still wasn't awake but that's what Edward was there for. Alyssa wasted no time at all crossing the room to hold her grandmother's hand.

"Good morning, Nana. I brought some friends with me today. This is Edward, and my boyfriend Jake." She pointed to each of us when she spoke our names even though her grandmother couldn't see us. After the introductions were over she looked up to Edward with hopeful expression but she couldn't hide her worry.

He smiled and nodded his head. "She can hear you." He dropped his voice down to a whisper. "She wants to know more about this Jake character." Alyssa's face could have split in half.

She started to whisper to her grandmother, even though she knew Edward and I could hear every word. "Jacob is great. He's tall and has black hair and the most beautiful russet skin." It seemed that whatever Nana was thinking amused Edward because his face screwed into an amused smirk.

"She's thinking that you sound happy. Also that you deserve to be happy . . . She really loves you Alyssa." He still had a smirk on his face, almost like he had some kind of inside joke that only he knew about.

_What is it Edward? _I thought, trying to get an answer to my ignored silent question.

"The way she thinks about things is comical. Every thought with her in it is happier. Alyssa lights up her life." I had to smile at that. Anyone who loved Alyssa that much was aces in my book.

We stayed and talked for a few hours. Well Edward and Alyssa talked with Nancy lying between them. I stood in the corner or next to Alyssa and watched as an outsider. To my surprise I didn't mind too much. Even I would have guessed that I would have been edgy about Edward and Alyssa getting along like they were but it didn't bother me.

I was more than sufficiently fascinated by the entire experience. People always say that if you are in a coma it helps for family members to talk to you. I guess Edward is the only person that could really prove that point correct. I could tell from the thoughts that Edward was sharing with us that Nancy was a happy woman and knew that her family loved her.

One quick trip to see Skip and then, we gladly left the hospital and moved toward Alyssa's house. Edward parked the Volvo on the curb and got out of the car with Alyssa and me. Before we got the chance to get to the steps the door swung open with violent enthusiasm and Bella came sprinting onto the front lawn. Edward gathered her in his arms with just as much gusto.

The remainder of the afternoon an evening was spent with the five of us watching movies, talking, and playing poker, which surprised even me. Bella sucked at poker but it was funny watching her try to pout when she lost all her chips. Edward beat us all of course. Knowing every person's hand helps with making bets.

Alyssa and Bella were getting along great. For the longest time I couldn't decide if I hated that fact or if I loved it. I was ecstatic that the two most important girls in my world got along. No matter how much I wanted to disregard the one little fact of Bella being a vampire I couldn't stop worrying about it. Would Alyssa be safe if she spent extensive amounts of time with Bella?

I looked around the room where everyone was cuddled up watching some stupid vampire movie that everyone but Alyssa found ridiculous. It's pretty funny how quickly horror movies turn into comedies when you know one of the mythical creatures involved. In my appraisal of the room I noticed Edward's face stand out from the rest.

He was looking at me with a sad and knowing stare. He must have heard my fears about Bella and Alyssa's impending friendship. This must be a bit like what he was feeling when he and Bella first got together. For the first time ever I really felt pity for my newly befriended bloodsucking comrade. Well he may not have been a pal yet but we were certainly making a step in that direction.

- - -

_Please review. I am not below begging….. :( _

_Also I want to wish a BIG GIANT BELATED BIRTHDAY to our best girl Bella Cullen!_


	19. Goodbyes are Hard

I don't own Twilight

_I don't own Twilight. Stephenie Meyer has brought us all the loveliness that is Twilight._

_SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY! I know this took far too long. I SUCK! _

- - -

A little over a week after the Cullen's arrival Skip was released from the hospital. He moved into nana's house until he was fully recovered. That left Alyssa in her room, Skip in Nancy's room and me in the guestroom. I hadn't even known there was a guest room until Skip showed up.

By the second night of cohabitating with Skip Alyssa and I realized that it was getting hard to sleep when the other one isn't around. That was how the routine of Alyssa sneaking into the room began. She would wait until Skip was asleep then slip down the hall into my room. We would make sure she woke up before Skip and tiptoe back into her room for the rest of the morning.

If Skip ever knew about our confidential sleeping arrangement he never let us know it.

We would spend our days in the hospital, leaving Bella at home with Alice. They were helping to take care of Skip. Evenings were spent watching movies and talking. We were all starting to get along well and Skip seemed to trust me more and more with each passing day.

It couldn't have been more than three days after Skip's release from the hospital that Nancy took a turn for the worse. We were at the hospital with Edward, like most days, and he was giving me odd looks from his corner of the room.

_What is it Edward? Is something wrong?_ I was practically screaming my thoughts. I could only hope that my panic was unwarranted.

"Alyssa, we're going to go out into the hall for a minute. I'll be right back." He made is way to the door and I followed behind wordlessly. I might have physically been silenced but my mind was racing at a hundred miles a minute. Something was wrong.

_Edward! Tell me what's wrong! Is it Alyssa or Nancy? Will she be okay? What's happening?!_

We made it to the end of the hall before she spun around and grabbed me by the shoulders. My natural reaction was to jerk out of his hold but I steadied myself.

"Calm down, Jacob." He let go of my shoulders and I relaxed enough to listen to him. "I don't know if it's that I have better hearing than you or I just know what I'm looking for but Nancy's heartbeat is starting to slow slightly and become irregular."

"What does that mean?" I may have never been to medical school but I wasn't stupid. I knew what it meant.

"I think its time we let Skip come say goodbye. She's starting to feel herself slipping away."

I nodded, almost in defeat. "Alright, what are we going to tell him?"

"As far as Nancy is concerned, one of us is an angel. She's just not sure which one. I don't think telling Skip about Nancy's thoughts will be an option. It opens up too many questions about both of us."

"How do we get him here?"

"As honestly as we can. We should tell him that since she hasn't woken up we think it would be best just to be prepared. Give him his chance to say goodbye. Do you want me to go get Alyssa's father or do you want to get her."

I was trying to hold it together. Granted I didn't know Nancy prior to this accident and it looked like I wouldn't get a chance to get to know her after but this would kill Alyssa and therefore wound me too. "I think we should tell Alyssa first. Let her make the decision."

We didn't say another word; instead we walked back to Nancy's drab room to find Alyssa with tears silently streaming down her face. She looked up at us when we entered the room.

"Its happening isn't it?" It was barely a whisper but we both heard her. There was nothing to say so I just nodded. She broke down into sobs and I gathered her shaking frame in my arms. I pulled her into the hall so we wouldn't scare her grandmother. We found a couch in a deserted waiting room where we could talk.

"Edward thinks we're going to loose her soon. Her heartbeat is changing . . ." Alyssa was curled up in a ball at my side, crying into my shoulder. "She can feel it coming."

Through tear blurred eyes she looked up at me. "Is she hurting?"

"Edward didn't say. We think we should get your dad. Let him say goodbye." Her face was hidden in my chest again but I felt her nod against me. "Do you want to get him or do you want Edward to do it?"

"I don't want to leave nana." She mumbled against my now tear stained t-shirt.

As suspected when we walked back into Nancy's room Edward was missing and a not lay on the chair where Alyssa had been sitting.

_Jacob and Alyssa, _

_I heard your decision and went to pick up Skip. It will take me a little while to drive back since I have to drive at a human speed. (I hate driving slow). Don't worry I called Alice. Since Jacob was out of the room she was able to see that we will make it back in time. Stay strong._

_Edward Cullen._

I was somewhat surprised, though I know I shouldn't have been, at Edward's sincerity. He really was a good guy when you look past the vampire aspect. I knew it but I was going to try my hardest not to think about it when he was around. No need to inflate the bloodsucker's ego.

We waited in the hospital until Edward and Skip showed up. When they slowly rounded the corner Alyssa leapt from her seat and very gently hugged her father. Due to the broken ribs hugs were still nearly impossible. He rubbed her back and told her that it was going to be okay. It was almost physically painful to know that his words were wrong. Everyone in the room knew exactly what was going to happen except for Skip.

While they were hugging Edward made his way to where I was sitting and took up residence in Alyssa's chair. The expression that his face held told me that he knew exactly what I meant about knowing what others didn't. It was a burden as much as it was a blessing. When he spoke it was so quiet that nobody but me would be able to hear.

"It won't be long now. Alice saw the sun setting through the window when she passed." I solemnly nodded my head at the inevitability of it all. I decided not to tell Alyssa exactly when it was going to happen. Edward must have agreed with me, or was at least respecting my decision, because he didn't say anything either.

The two hours leading up to Nancy West's death were excruciatingly slow. I felt like I was being split in two. One side of me wanted the time to come swiftly so everyone could start the healing process and get past the torture of waiting. The smaller, often neglected, part of me which used logic knew that Alyssa was going to be absolutely crushed by nights end and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I would give anything to postpone that moment.

By the time the stars shown bright in the sky nana had passed on. When her heart monitor started to go wild, beeping in quick succession one second just to plummet to slow unsteady beats the next. I ran from the room to get a doctor, knowing full well a doctor wouldn't do any good, but I had to try for Alyssa.

Two doctors, three nurses, and an intern wielding a crash cart came rushing into the already crowded room. The four of us were quickly ushered out of the room and into a nearby waiting room. Alyssa was already hysterical as we waited for the doctor to return. Skip seemed resigned, as if he knew what was coming and was preparing himself for it.

Eventually a young man, no more than thirty-five, walked into the nearly silent room. His crestfallen expression told us everything that we needed to know but he proceeded into the room and lamented that they were unable to save Nancy. He was swift in his delivery of the news and then left us alone with our grief.

There wasn't anything that I could do at that point. Alyssa was hurting and I couldn't possibly fix it. I did the only thing that I could in that situation. I held her while she cried. When we finally got the gumption to leave the hospital and face what was really happening we headed home. I sat in the back with Alyssa and rubbed soothing circles on her back while she leaned against me, silent tears escaping her eyes the entire drive.

- - -

The funeral was held four days after Nancy passed away. Having not been to a funeral since my mom's I wasn't sure how I would react to being in that atmosphere but I knew I had to be there for Alyssa and Skip. In the end I didn't handle it as badly as I thought I would.

During her life Nancy was really involved in the community so there were plenty of mourners and well wishers at the services. Eulogies were given by both Skip and Alyssa, followed by a crowded reception. There was enough food to feed every guest and still have enough leftovers to feed everyone for a week. That was if you weren't counting me and my freakishly large werewolf appetite.

Once the last mourner had left Skip, Alyssa, and I made our way back to the house. The Cullen family had graciously offered to do clean up since they would get it done a whole lot faster than two humans and a werewolf. Especially when said, werewolf wasn't allowed to show off their special skills in front of Skip.

That night, right before proceeding to bed, Skip stopped to talk to us. "I think you kids should go back to Washington tomorrow. You've already missed too much school."

"No dad, you aren't healed yet and I don't want to leave you by yourself." Alyssa had an air of determination in her tone.

"I'm getting around just fine, and you know it. Even on bereavement time you both are missing classes. I'm sure you both will have a hard enough time catching up as it is. No need to put yourself farther behind for me."

"Maybe he's right. You don't want to get too far behind on your first quarter do you?" I added to the conversation for the first time.

Alyssa whipped her head in my direction and stared at me with shocked eyes. "Jake, you can't be serio-" I cut her off before she could finish her complaint.

"Yes, I'm serious. You are paying way too much to skip this many classes and no matter how many strings I have pulled for me I still have to go back to school at some point." Skip was standing to the right of Alyssa, an almost smug grin pulling at the corners of his mouth. While he looked pleased with my suggestion Alyssa looked a bit hurt.

"I told you that you didn't _have to _come with me! If you don't want to be here you are more than welcome to run along home." She was starting to raise her voice by this point. I couldn't tell if she was genuinely angry with me or if she was just using that to cover up being hurt. Then her face went completely blank and she abruptly stopped talking.

Skip took the opportunity to intervene at about that point. "Settle down." He put a comforting arm around Alyssa's shoulders. "You know he isn't just going to leave. For starters one of you would be without a car stranded and secondly, you don't really want him to go and you know it."

I was supremely impressed with his soothing chatter. It was obvious that I had been doing something right over the last week and a half. That happy thought was short lived when I took in Alyssa's face. It was apparent that something was amiss and I didn't know what it was at first.

I immediately started to replay the last conversation in my head and that's when I figured it out. I remembered a conversation Alyssa and I had about what would happen if I was really needed back in La Push. Of course I wouldn't leave her stranded in Oregon. I would run home and leave the rabbit for her so she could get home.

From the look on Alyssa's face I was willing to bet she was about to say something about that little arrangement out loud. From the little 'run along home' comment I would have been willing to bet that was the problem.

She had almost let the secret slip. And not just to anyone but her dad. Skip wasn't oblivious to the now stilted silence that filled the room. He eyed us both questioningly but seems to drop it when neither of us answered his unasked questions right away.

"I think I'll let you kids talk. I need to go to bed anyways, I'm beat." He kissed Alyssa on the top of her head and patted my right shoulder as he drifted out of the room. I turned around so I had a clear view of my angel's face.

"Don't worry honey, he doesn't know anything." She shook her head at me like she was disappointed in herself. I could understand that she almost made a big mistake but she didn't actually do anything harmful so I wanted her to cheer up. "Everything is fine. No need to worry, really." She didn't seem to look completely convinced but her smile didn't even come close to reaching the big blue eyes that I had grown to practically worship.

She quietly answered as she avoided eye contact and shook her head "I can't believe I almost just did that. I just came so close to ruining everything Jake. I'm so sorry."

"Nothing happened, nothing is going to happen, he doesn't know and he won't."

"okay" she begrudgingly consented

In a swift movement that startled her I pulled Alyssa toward me sat down and plopped her into my awaiting lap "we really should head back home ya know. Your dad will be fine here and we both need to get back to school."

"I don't know. He needs me now more than ever; he's really alone now."

She was right for the most part but I was still pretty sure that the thing Skip needed more than anything else was a quiet and safe space to break down. He didn't want to do that in front of Alyssa. I couldn't blame him for that one. I had to run away once to grieve too. "Your dad is a strong guy. I'm sure he will be fine. More than anything else he is proud of you. He wouldn't want you to put your education at risk."

"I know. Alright, I guess we'll take off tomorrow. That will give us the weekend to settle back in at home before Monday."

"Sounds like a plan. Now let's get some sleep; we have a long drive ahead of us." Before even stepping foot in the upstairs hallway Skips loud snoring was prominent so we didn't bother with the charade that Alyssa was going to be in her room. We went straight to the guest room with me and we settled in for the night.

The next morning I woke up to the surprise of my life, I guess to be honest my transformation from a regular sixteen year old to a giant werewolf was more of a surprise but I was still shocked.

Around 9:30 there was a knock on the guest room door. Without even thinking I hopped out of bed to answer it. It seems that I have a serious problem with thinking coherently first thing in the morning because I didn't even bother to think who would be outside my door or what they would say about Alyssa asleep in my bed.

The day before had been emotionally exhausting, what with the funeral and Alyssa almost slipping up about wolfy information. So we had slept straight through the time when she would slip back into her room before she was noticed.

Rubbing the sleep from my eyes I opened to door to find an almost pensive Skip waiting. There was no yelling or questions involved he simply smiled at me and said "Morning Jake, breakfast is ready down stairs when you and Alyssa are ready." Then he turned around and walked downstairs.

For a minute I was flabbergasted. I would have expected rage or disgust but total and complete nonchalance was unexpected. It took me a minute before I could close the door and turn back around. When I did I noticed Alyssa was awake and looked just as taken aback as I felt.

"Wa-was that my dad?"

"Yeah, breakfast is ready." I made my way to the other side of the bed to grab one of the worn t-shirts from my bag. Alyssa sat up as I moved across the room.

"Shouldn't you be dead or seriously hurt?" I gave her a confused look and she continued. "I just meant that my dad just found us in the same room where we were obviously sleeping together and didn't seem to care."

"I know. . . I'm a little freaked out too." I crawled back onto the bed next to her and pulled her into my chest. "But this could be a good thing. He obviously trusts us at least a little. Maybe he is starting to see that I'm here for the long haul."

The sweetest smile spread across her face and she looked into my eyes. Sitting up onto her knees she leaned over to me and delighted me with a morning kiss. "We should get down stairs before things get more awkward."

"Agreed" We made our way down stairs where we found Skip sitting at the table behind the morning paper. An assortment of breakfast foods ranging from eggs and bacon to pancakes and toast was spread across the table in front of him. This scene wouldn't have been odd if it wasn't obvious that he had done all of the cooking. Skip wasn't exactly the domestic type and knowing that he had went down stairs and made a big breakfast was a little odd.

"Morning daddy"

"Mornin' darling', take a seat and grab some food."

We sat down at the table and Skip as well as Alyssa started dishing out the food. In our time spent together Skip had grown accustomed to my 'monstrous appetite', though he didn't know the reasoning behind it. Once they had their food I filled my plate and began eating.

Skip was less than surprised by the news of our upcoming departure. That seemed to be the reasoning behind the special breakfast. It gave us a chance to talk and say the majority of our goodbyes over a nice meal. It was a pretty enjoyable way to spend our last morning together.

To my extreme satisfaction our newly found sleeping arrangements never came up. I didn't know if it was because Skip really didn't care or if it was just that he didn't want to learn too much. Either way I was alright with keeping that as an un-discussed topic.

When we were done eating and the dishes were washed Alyssa and I went upstairs to pack our bags and get ready for the long day ahead of us. While we were packing the last of our stuff Alyssa started to get a bit emotional.

"Are you sure he's going to be okay?"

"Positive . . . Your dad is a tough guy. You have to give him some credit."

"You're right." She went back to packing for a few minutes then turned around again. "Jake, do you think we can see Bella, Edward, and Alice before we leave? They won't be able to come to La Push for a visit."

Bella and Alyssa had gotten fairly close in our time spent in Oregon. It was obvious that The Cullen family wouldn't be coming back to Forks or La Push anytime soon and though I was still in the air about how I felt about Alyssa being friends with a vampire I knew she wouldn't be sad if they didn't get a chance to say good bye.

"Sure we can do that. I'll call Bells."

I went outside to put the bags in the car and to give Alyssa a private moment with her dad. I knew how close they were and being away from them would give me a chance to call Bella to see if we could meet without Skip around.

I scrolled through the address book on my new cell phone looking for Bella's name. Yes, Jacob Black had finally made the leap into 90's and gotten himself a phone. When I found the number I pushed the send button and waited for Bella's new singsong voice to answer.

"Hello Jacob" I was briefly wondered why Edward was answering the phone instead of Bella but didn't question it further.

"Hey Edward, Alyssa and I are taking off today and she wanted to say goodbye to you guys before we left . . . I guess I did too." Though Edward and I were on good terms and I no longer held any animosity toward him I wasn't sure I wanted to come out and start calling him a friend just yet.

"We anticipated that you would be heading back soon. Bella was hoping you would call."

Our conversation was relatively short since it was Edward on the phone instead of Bella. We decided that meeting away from the house would be for the best. That way Skip wouldn't get suspicious about why we wouldn't be seeing each other in the near future. The story had been that they were friends that Alyssa had made in school and wanted to come down for support.

In the car on our way to the coffee shop where we were meeting the Cullens Alyssa was wiping her eyes and sniffling quietly in the passenger seat. We had just said our goodbyes to skip. It was a fairly long and heartfelt process. Not to mention full of tears.

I pulled my rabbit into the small parking lot outside of the coffee shop. Bella's new Ferrari was parked by the building. Alyssa took a deep breath and reached for the door but I had already raced around the car to beat her to it. She shook her head and thanked me. Hand in hand we walked over to were our, dare I say it, _friends_ were waiting for us.

Bella stepped forward with her arms extended for a hug; Alyssa dropped my hand and embraced my old friend and her new friend. No matter how much I hated it I wasn't too terribly bothered by the fact that Alyssa was held in the embrace of a person I should naturally despise. Edward just gave me a knowing look at this thought and stuck his hand out for me to shake. I took it and ignored the involuntary reaction his icy grip caused my system.

We stayed in our small concrete lot for no more than half an hour before we decided it would be best for us to head out. Alyssa and Bella exchanged phone numbers and email addresses. They also promised to add each other as Myspace friends which caused both Edward and I to chuckle. I gave Bella my new number and told her to get a hold of me if she needed anything. A few more pleasantries and we hit the road toward home.

- - -

_Reviews are appreciated even if you're telling me you don't like it. Everything helps. _

Official Soundtrack list for the movie:

Muse — Supermassive Black Hole

Paramore — Decode

The Black Ghosts — Full Moon

Linkin Park — Leave Out All The Rest

MuteMath — Spotlight (Twilight Mix)

Perry Farrell — Go All The Way (Into The Twilight)

Collective Soul — Tremble For My Beloved

Paramore — I Caught Myself

Blue Foundation — Eyes On Fire

Rob Pattinson — Never Think

Iron & Wine — Flightless Bird, American Mouth

Carter Burwell — Bella's Lullaby

It just makes me even more excited!


	20. Family Christmas

_Stephenie Meyer owns them I just like to play with them on my free time. _

_The movie came out… (I waited outside for 6 hours in 30 degree weather to get my seat). It was amazing if you ask me. Yes it didn't follow the books exactly but it was still magical. _

- - -

Have you ever noticed that long car rides seem to go by surprisingly fast when you actually want to be with the other person in the car? I most certainly have. We made it to La Push by eight-thirty that evening. Alyssa ended up staying one night before heading back to Seattle. It was nice to have her home for a night before we would be separated again. I didn't like the division but I wasn't stupid; we each had our place for now and would have to be patient for the day we could be together forever.

- - -

We fell into a steady schedule after our trip to Oregon. A long week of phone calls and text messages leading up to Friday afternoons when either I would run up to Seattle or Alyssa would visit La Push. More times than not it was me making the trip instead of Alyssa, she did however make a point of coming for both Billy's birthday in the first week of November and for a bonfire when Paul Imprinted.

We were all blown away when Paul dropped the imprinting bomb on us. I had never seen that guy smile so much in all of the time I had known him. A smiling, whistling, happy Paul definitely meant _something_ was up.

After school on a typical Wednesday afternoon Embry and I were lounging around Sam's house. The front door was slammed open and Paul came strutting, that's right not walking but strutting, into the room smiling from ear to ear.

"Hey guys how are you this _lovely_ afternoon?" he asked in a tone far too chipper for my liking.

Now I can't speak for anyone else but he was never this cheerful to me. "What's with you?"

"Yeah, I can see all of your teeth but you aren't growling or trying to bite my head off. What's up?" Embry added from the other side of the couch.

"You know the usual, school, work, imprinting. . ." Paul said nonchalantly as he walked into the kitchen.

Within seconds we were off of the couch and running full speed into the kitchen where Paul was arrogantly perched on the counter.

"You what!?"

"I worked today." He was trying to keep a straight face but wasn't doing a very good job at it. "Only a few hours though. Mark cut my shift last week."

"Not that you dumb ass!" Embry shrieked "You imprinted?"

A smug smirk overtook Paul's face and he nodded his head positively. The era of angry Paul was officially over.

- - -

Almost three months had passed since our trip to Oregon and Christmas was rapidly approaching. Skip was down south and wasn't able to get back to Washington so we made plans for Alyssa to spend her holiday break in La Push. Needless to say I was stoked.

It was going to be the first Christmas since the pack was formed and I couldn't wait. The past few years had been really low key around the holidays since Rebecca was in Hawaii with her new family and Rachel was at school in Pullman. Billy loved Christmas but when it was just him and I it wasn't the same. That was all changed with the pack and Alyssa in our lives.

Angela and Alyssa carpooled down from Seattle in order to save money on gas so she had to wait until Angela's last class was over at six o'clock. It sucked since Alyssa had been done since noon but I liked that idea better than if she was going to be alone for the entire drive. After the long car ride Alyssa pulled into my driveway in turn causing me to sprint through the house at a completely inhuman pace. I didn't even care that I looked completely whipped; it was true.

I swung the door open, resulting in an overzealous crash and leapt off of the front porch. Getting out of the car my angel didn't waste time to hurtle into my awaiting arms. She was home.

Thanks to the smart people of the University of Washington Alyssa's quarter ended in December giving her nearly a month of break. Thanks to Skip's unexpected business trip Alyssa was going to spend that entire month in La Push with me. Nothing could have made me happier.

Alyssa, Kim, Emily, and Carmen (Paul's imprint) were going Christmas shopping early the next day so after eating and watching a movie we headed to bed. We had considered having Alyssa stay at Sam's house again since it was bigger but we decided that since it was such an extended visit we didn't want to leave Billy alone and bored for that long. So we were just going to have to cuddle up to share my tiny bed . . . shucks.

While the girls were gone the imprinted pack members took the time to wrap the presents we had already gotten for the girls. We were going to leave them at Embry's house since none of the girls would even consider going into the hell hole that he calls a room. Needless to say none of us were expert wrappers so the process took _far_ longer than it should have.

I had gotten Alyssa two gifts. The first was a restored picture of her mom and dad from when they first opened the Inn. I had asked Skip for pictures and he informed me that it had always been Alyssa's favorite. It was in a nice frame and she would be able to hang it in her studio as a permanent reminder of her parents. The second was more romantic in a sense.

I couldn't afford anything really nice to give Alyssa since I couldn't get a job and have my weekends free to be in Seattle so I had to think of something that wouldn't cost me a fortune. I had considered asking Bella to front me some cash but I didn't want this to be a present from the Cullen family I wanted it to come straight from me.

I had been racking my brains since we came home from Oregon about what I wanted to get her. It wasn't until I asked my dad about presents he had gotten my mom that it came to me, the perfect present.

When Bella came to visit us in Oregon she was wearing the bracelet that I had gotten her for graduation. Alyssa was enamored with it. When Bella pointed out that I had made the charm Alyssa fell even more in love with the trinket. I wanted to give Alyssa everything she wanted and more but I couldn't give her the same thing that I had given another girl. She was so much more special than that.

I carved two small wolf charms; starting with a larger russet colored one that was to represent me. I followed that with a smaller carving made of a light, almost white, wood', one to show the purity of heart that Alyssa embodies. I mounted them on a cord that I had beaded so they were facing each other. I prayed that she would understand that they represented to two of us. I thought it looked nice and the guys agreed. Hell even Leah said it was sweet. I guess sometimes it's nice to have a girl in the pack.

We woke up on Christmas morning at around nine to find the pleasant surprise; a fresh blanket of snow covered the ground. It wasn't even the disgusting slush that Washington winters usually bring; it was beautiful. Alyssa was automatically ecstatic.

"Let's go make a snowman!" She sang while leaping out of bed.

"Okay there are three things wrong with that idea."

With a small pout she turned around to look at me. "What?"

"One, I'll melt the snow if I try to make a snowman. Two, its Christmas morning and there are presents waiting. And three, I would rather just lay here for a little longer with you."

"I guess those are legitimate reasons." She smirked at me as she crawled back into bed and wiggled into my arms.

I kissed her on the very tip of her nose and triggering a giggle. Craning her neck up so she was at face level with me she slowly started to kiss me. The second I pulled her closer to me, sparing her neck, our slow sweet kiss took on a new level of fervor.

Alyssa and I had kept our physical relationship at a strictly PG level, much to the amusement of some of my pack brothers. So when I felt my sweet Alyssa's nails drag down the bare skin of my back, simultaneously pulling her closer to me my lips automatically froze. I was shocked.

In the brief seconds that our lips were separated I heard the most beautiful five words ever spoken. "I love you Jacob Black." That's all it took. My lips crashed down on Alyssa's and I pulled her up so she was perched on my torso. My hands were cautiously making their way up the back of her shirt rubbing circles on the exposed skin there.

In what felt like mere seconds Alyssa's shirt was completely gone and she was left in a black bra and my old boxers. Alyssa was sitting up now reaching behind her to unclasp her bra. It would be a gross understatement to say I was enjoying myself. That was until Billy's fist began to make contact with my flimsy door.

"Are you two awake? We've got to get to Sam's house; it's nearly eleven." We had been held up in my room for two hours without even realizing it.

Completely startled by our interruption Alyssa let out a loud shriek as she rolled off of me sufficiently landing on the floor with a thud. Not surprising to anyone my first concern was to see if she was hurt.

Leaning off the side of the bed I asked "Are you alright honey?"

Having heard the commotion from the hallway Billy began to open the door. In a speed far faster than the average man I leapt from the bed and slammed the door shut again.

"Sorry dad, we over slept. We'll get ready right now."

Obviously not believing my excuse I heard the wheels of his chair squeak down the hall. "O…kay"

I turned around to find Alyssa pulling the unused blanket off the end of my bed, wrapping it around her shoulders with one hand while the other was clamped over her mouth. She was blushing in a way only pre-vampire Bella could rival. She was shaking slightly, obviously embarrassed.

"I am so sorry baby, I should have had better control and this would have never happened."

"That's not it. If you couldn't tell I was enjoying myself." To my great surprise when she dropped her hand from her mouth she revealed a smile. She was chuckling to herself "I completely forgot all about Billy being in the house. Do you know how close that was?" She was still laughing and I was still highly confused.

"So you aren't upset?" I asked desperately trying to find any clarification I could.

I thought for sure the events of that morning would be pushing some kind of line that she wasn't ready for, or she would be humiliated that my dad almost saw us or some aspect of the events would upset her.

"Well, I'm not saying that this whole thing isn't embarrassing. I mean your dad of all people just about caught us making out, _topless_, but it's actually pretty funny too."

"Funny?" I asked, incredulity dripping from my one word question.

"Yeah, we've been together for about four months now. I've had awhile to get used to the idea of the pack seeing me in these kinds of situations but for your dad to be the first to know is just hilarious." She broke off into hysterical laughter.

All I could think was that Alyssa was is by far the best woman on earth. She is able to deal with all of the insanity of my life and still find a way to love me. I'm not completely sure what I ever did to get so lucky but I don't really care anyways. I'm just glad that we found each other.

We were still on the floor of my microscopic bedroom crammed between my bed and the wall; once Alyssa's laughter subsided I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her into me. Resting my chin on her shoulder I kissed her right behind the ear and whispered a soft "I love you" in her ear.

When we finally found the motivation to get up and dressed for the day it was a quarter after eleven. We were due to be at Sam's house by noon. Even though we spent barely any time at all actually getting ready I was guessing we were going to be late. Walking into the living room I couldn't help but to chuckle. Billy was less than patiently waiting for us next to the Christmas tree.

"Took you long enough, I've been up since six." To look at my father from afar you might think that he was just like any other aging man in a wheelchair but when you dig down deeper to the spirit of the man you will find a true child at heart.

"Sorry dad we stayed up late waiting for Santa." I teased. Alyssa wacked me in the arm and skipped toward Billy kissing him on the cheek with a cheery "merry Christmas!"

There were a surprising number of presents under our tree that year. Not only were there the presents that the three of us had bought for each other but Skip had also sent a few packages from Alabama, the Cullen family sent a plethora of presents from wherever they were calling home these days. They still weren't comfortable with the pack, outside of Seth and me, knowing where they lived so it was kept a secret.

Handing out presents to Alyssa and me, Billy looked happier than he had in years. Obviously he missed Rachel and Rebecca but with Alyssa around it felt like we were a family again.

After an hour of opening presents only those between Alyssa and I, and those we still needed to take for the pack, were left. We decided that we were late enough as it was and would open our gifts to each other later.

Everything at the Uley, Young house was in full swing when we walked into the house. The entire pack was present along with Kim, Carmen, Claire, her sister Mary, and parents, old Quil, and Sue Clearwater. Everyone was comfortably dispersed between both the kitchen and the living room. Even with the large number of guests, not to mention the sheer size of ten of theses guests, crammed into the small space it didn't feel claustrophobic. It just felt like home.

Upon our entry Claire squealed with delight, jumping out of Quil's lap she ran into Alyssa's awaiting arms. That little girl had taken a definite liking to Alyssa, which was pretty funny since she hadn't been around _that_ much and Claire was generally shy around new people.

From across the room Embry was laughing "Aww don't cry over there Quil. I'm sure the little princess will be back soon. It's too cold for her to stay away for long." Claire's parents just shook their heads at the pouting werewolf who sat before them. That is until Claire looked over her shoulder at him.

"Quiw?"

"Yeah sweetie," Quil looked up hopefully.

"You have to share . . . It's the rules." The room erupted with laughter, causing Claire to look quite proud of her witty remark. To nobody's surprise Claire made her way back into Quil's lap not too long after vacating it and Alyssa and I sat on the floor in front of the TV that nobody was actually watching.

Not long after we got there the girls went to start dinner. Without Emily's calming presence I could tell Sam was getting jittery again. Don't get me wrong to anyone outside of the pack he would have looked cool as a cucumber but I knew better. He had been worrying about going an entire day without any kind of patrols but didn't want to ruin the first Christmas with the entire pack.

It wasn't even five minutes after the girls were out of the room that he was standing up. I knew exactly where he was headed.

"I think I'm just going to go outside and check to see if the roads are getting icy." It was easily the worst lie I had ever heard come from Sam. I chuckled and stood up from my spot on the floor.

"I'll go with you." Everyone knew exactly what we were up to but played along anyways, not saying a word.

As soon as we were at the edge of the forest Sam and I took off our new button up shirts and khaki pants. Setting them on the cleanest area we could find we phased into our wolf forms. It was oddly quiet only sharing thoughts with one other pack member.

We ran in companionable silence for half of the familiar route. That is until my thoughts started drifting to that morning's activities and Sam's mind started to stutter at the shock of my thoughts.

_Wha-what?_ I could tell he was trying no to out right laugh at the circumstances

_It's okay. You can laugh. It is pretty funny_. I informed my alpha as we rounded the three quarter mark of the trail.

_Its not that I think the situation is funny, Jake. Alyssa just seems so innocent and for it to be Billy of all people . . . That's just priceless._

We spent the rest of our run thinking about everything that has happened since the pack was formed. We had gained so much more than just a new set or responsibilities. We had an unwavering knowledge of the true origin or our people, a set of unbelievable physical abilities like strength, speed, heat, and healing and above all else we now had a large family that we knew we could count of for anything. That's something that Sam had never really known before. It was a refreshing feeling to know there would always be someone there for you when you needed them to be.

Before to long we were back in the woods surrounding Sam and Emily's house were we phased back to our human forms and dressed. As we walked back to the house we heard three loud screams. Both of our head immediately snapped up and we were running toward the house. I didn't know what was going on but I would know Alyssa's voice anywhere. She was one of the screams and from Sam's reaction Emily was another.

- - -

_Okay so I'm totally and completely aware that this took way too long to get out there. With that I have a question for you. Would you rather have long chapters that take forever or shorter chapters more frequently? I can do it either way I just need to know what you want. _

_REVIEWERS GETAN EXTRA SPECIAL MINI-CHAPTER!_

_I am only getting one review at the most these days… (Thank you __**deviLISH-innocence**__ for you're constant support) Please review. I see that people are reading it but I don't know what they are thinking about it. With 10 favs and 16 alerts I should be getting more than one review at most. _


	21. Screaming for a Friend

_I don't own any of the loveliness that is Twilight… But I do play with it from time to time._

_This one goes out to the Ally for her first time review and I of course cant forget to send a shout out to deviLISH-innocence for her unfailing support. _

- - -

Running as fast as we could, we made it to the back door within seconds. There was no hesitation involved when Sam slammed the door back on its hinges nearly shattering the glass as it shook against the wall. Rounding the corner into the kitchen I was almost instantaneously gathering Alyssa in my arm. Sam was doing the same with Emily.

"What happened? Are you alright?" I asked Alyssa as Sam was looking over Emily for any sign of damage.

Nobody answered at first. The girls were in a fit of giggles at our concern. When everyone was settled and the girls were placed back onto their feet Sam asked again.

"Emily, what happened?" His tone was almost pleading.

I had gathered by this point that nothing was _wrong_ at the moment. Emily, Alyssa, Kim, and Carmen had huge smiles covering their faces while the rest of the Christmas guests looked as confused as Sam and I.

"Well honey, I kind of got you another Christmas present this morning. I guess I'm just excited to give it to you." The look on Emily's face screamed fake innocence. It was obvious she was hiding something.

Alyssa and Kim smiled further and stared to nod their heads. They were clearly in on the joke.

"You were screaming over a Christmas present?" Sam asked in a voice that made it clear he was slightly annoyed with Emily's uncharacteristic reaction. "You are aware that you scared the hell out of Jake and me, right?"

"I'm sorry hun, I really am. Do you want to see your present now?"

He didn't look too amused with Emily's nonchalant attitude but it's nearly impossible to deny an imprint so he caved. "Sure, that would be fine."

Nearly everyone in the room was still completely lost. I only got more confused when Emily grabbed Sam by the hand and led him down the hall. When they disappeared into the master bedroom I turned to face Alyssa. I was looking for an explanation but she just looked at me.

"Well . . ."

Shaking her head and grinning she responded with a simple "you'll see".

We couldn't have been standing in the kitchen for more than a few minutes before Sam's voice could be heard from down the hall.

"I'm going to _what_?!"

Half a second later Sam was sprinting into the room with Emily clutched in his arms. The term "smiling from ear to ear" became a literal statement in that moment.

"I'm going to be a dad."

Cheers rang out throughout the room and both Sam and Emily were engulfed by a rush of congratulations and hugs. A few moments later we all separated. Emily and Sam were locked in an intense stare. It was definitely one of those instances in which looking away seemed absolutely necessary.

Taking in the room it didn't take long to realize who was missing. Leah had bolted sometime during our celebrating. I didn't really blame her though. It was just like when I heard about Bella and Edward getting married and ran. This had to hurt for her.

Alyssa must have noticed the absent member of our little family too. She gave my hand a gentle squeeze with her much smaller one

"You should go find her." I knew she was right but it was our first Christmas together and I didn't want Alyssa to remember this day as the Christmas I bailed on her for the pack.

"Are you sure? It's Christmas after all."

"Exactly, she can't be alone out there. It just isn't right. She needs a friend Jake."

"Okay, I'll be back as soon as I can. I love you."

With that I pecked her on the cheek and made my way out the door. When I was in sufficient tree cover I changed out of my clothes, tying them to my leg, and phased. In a flash I was flooded with all the sadness and memories flowing through Leah's mind. This only lasted a minute or so before I heard an internal grown at my presence and she was gone.

It was obvious that she didn't want to share a mind with me but it didn't seem right to leave her alone in the forest, especially on Christmas.

As I approached the spot I had last seen in her mind I heard Leah's desperate sobs before I saw her. As I rounded a fallen tree I came to find Leah, sitting against the base of a tree naked as the day she was born. She was crying and shaking as the sobs racked through her. I had never seen her look so vulnerable.

In that split second Leah was no longer the shrew. Her demeanor as a cold hearted, for lack of a better word, bitch was shattered. Despite the fact that she was older than me and that in daily life she annoyed the hell out of me, despite the horrible things she had said and thought in the last year in that moment She was just Leah. The mask she had been putting up since Sam first met Emily was ruined. She was in pain and that's all that mattered. My pack sister needed me.

I turned behind a tree and phased back. No matter how impossible modesty was within the pack we still tried to be discreet, especially where Leah was concerned. I pulled the pants off of my leg and pulled them on. When I came around the tree Leas was trying to compose herself. I pulled the shirt from my leg and handed it to her.

"Thanks" she mumbled as she tried her best to cover herself.

I took a seat next to her. "So do you want to talk?"

She scoffed at me. "Talk about what? How the guy I am in love with is having a baby with my best friend? Or how about how I can't just be happy that two people I love have found true happiness with each other? God Jake, I'm pathetic.

"No, you're not. Hell you're stronger than I can even imagine. I ran away from everything and everyone I've ever known because a girl I never really had. You're here. You face Sam and Emily every day and haven't completely lost it. I look up to you Leah."

"You look up to the bitter harpy? . . . Don't let that get out. You'll never live it down."

I was glad she was able to joke with me. No matter how badly I talk about Leah I really do care about her. She deserves happiness. We sat there in the woods for about an hour talking before Leah felt ready to go back to the house.

"You know Leah . . . It could happen for you. You could find your Alyssa some day. He's out there somewhere."

"I honestly don't want to think about it Jake. Imprinting would be ideal but I'm not going to bank on it. Hope is a dangerous thing." With that out in the open we silently made our way to Sam's back yard. We were both thinking over the days events.

As we arrived at the edge of the trees Leah stopped dead in her tracks. "Umm, do you think you could go borrow some clothes for me . . ." She was tugging at the hem of my shirt. "This is already going to be humiliating enough without walking around half naked."

"Sure sure" I chuckled.

I jogged up to the house and slipped in the back door. When I walked in it looked like business as usual, that is except that Sam was acting as Emily's shadow as she bustled around the kitchen fixing the enormous dinner. Alyssa was happily playing Barbie with Quil and Claire in the living room. Almost everyone else was engrossed in A Christmas Story which was blaring out of the living room's TV.

As soon as I walked in Alyssa vacated her game to greet me with a warm hug and a kiss. Seth and Sue weren't far behind her.

"Is she okay, Jake?" Sue asked, true concern radiating from her.

"She'll be okay. At the moment she just wants some clothes." Sue nodded her head and walked to the chair by the front door to retrieve a lightweight sweater and jeans. It was obvious that someone had ran home to get her a new set of clothes and from the quality of selection I'm guessing it was Sue instead of Seth. She handed me the outfit and a grocery sack full of girly stuff that I would rather not think about in association with Leah.

I was turning to leave when Alyssa tugged on my arm. "Can I come with?"

I didn't really understand why she would want to go talk to Leah. They got along just fine but she hadn't exactly developed a rapid friendship with her since coming to La Push. It didn't make sense to me but like I said what an imprint wants an imprint gets. So I pulled her coat off the hook it was hanging on. She happily bundled up and we left the house.

Approaching the wooded area I could clearly hear Leah grumbling before Alyssa could even make out a noise.

_"Hurry up Jacob Black . . . What is he doing, making me new clothes?"_

I couldn't help but laugh at her grumblings. Of course I looked a bit crazy to Alyssa, who still couldn't hear her, but I didn't mind. Leah heard my laughter and walked out from behind a tree.

"Finally, Geez took you long enough. . ." She stopped talking when she noticed Alyssa at my side. "What are you doing here?"

Now even if I had accepted that Leah wasn't the impossible shrew that everyone thought shewas her being rude to Alyssa wasn't going to be accepted.

"Watch yourself Leah." I said with a threat clear in my voice.

"No, Jake its okay. I'm not expected company I'm sure." Surprising me more than usual she let go of my hand walked right up to Leah and hugged her. Now Leah Clearwater is not a touchy feely person in the least. At first she just looked at me obviously trying to figure out how to react.

I was just as lost as her. So when I shrugged she reluctantly hugged her back. Once Alyssa had her hug she pulled away from the very confused werewolf.

"I know you don't really know me well but you and Jake are close so I would like to get to know you too. I want to be your friend Leah so if you ever need to talk . . . about anything . . . I'm here for you."

Leah's face went from utter shock to calm within seconds. A small accepting smile filtered onto her face. "Thank you Alyssa. That means a lot to me."

None of the imprints had made an effort to befriend Leah. She had always been on the outskirts of the pack. Being the only girl must be hard.

We rejoiced the pack a half hour or so before dinner was served. Sam was still hot on Emily's tail as she finished the food. Walking in the door, Sue nearly tackled Leah into a hug. I heard Leah's soft mumble of "I'm getting that a lot today" and had to bite my lip to keep from laughing.

The rest of the evening was light and fun. We ate another Emily Young masterpiece dinner and then watched the original How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Claire loved it but fell asleep on Quil's lap shortly after the credits started to role. Most people were starting to head home for the night so Billy Alyssa and I decided to follow suit.

I was pretty jazzed when I was walking out the door and caught a glimpse of Leah and Emily in the kitchen. She was actually giving Emily a hug. It looked like she was trying her best to be happy for the mother to be. It was going to be a rough road for her but Leah's a strong person. She was making an effort.

We went back to our house and got Billy into the house without any trouble; Alyssa and I had decided that we wanted to go for a walk on the beach so it was just a pit stop for us. While Alyssa was changing into more comfortable clothes I gathered up our presents to each other and packed them into a duffle bag. I figured that if we were going to be on the beach anyways we might as well open our gifts there.

When Alyssa was ready we said goodbye and goodnight to Billy and headed toward the ocean hand in hand. My only hope was that she would like the gifts I had gotten her.

- - -

_I know I said that this wouldn't be up anytime soon because of my finals I got bored in class and ended up writing the majority of it. I know its shorter than usual but that's just how it is if I'm going to update more often. _


	22. Gifts to Remember

_I do not own Twilight. All credit goes to the lovely and talented Stephenie Meyers._

- - -

No shock to us the beach was completely deserted when we arrived. The snow looked beautiful in the moonlight and the water was giving off a calming rumble. Alyssa looked absolutely wonderful in the moons glow.

We took a natural path to our rock and settled into a comfortable routine. December in Washington wasn't exactly a time for Bermuda shorts so Alyssa had to cuddle close to me in order to stay warm. I knew there were perks to the werewolf thing. We sat for awhile just watching the stars and talking. I couldn't think of any better way to spend Christmas.

Eventually Alyssa started to nod off so I pulled the duffle bag full of presents onto my lap.

"Nope, no sleeping yet Miss West, you have presents to open." Opening her eyes and looking up at me she looked so adorable I couldn't help but chuckle.

"okay, you can stop laughing at me now. I'm awake." She sat up straighter and pulled away from me for a brief minute. It only lasted long enough for the winter air to bite at her skin. After that she was back in my arms where she belonged.

I handed her the two presents that I had wrapped for her and placed mine in front of me. "Open this one first." I lifted the larger of the two packages up and she took it from me. She pointed to a box with green wrapping paper and a gold bow on it.

I held it on my lap and watched as Alyssa opened her photo. She ripped the paper away with ease. When she flipped the large frame over to see the glass front a small gasp escaped her lips.

"Oh Jake, oh my gosh. This is amazing." A small tear was sliding down her check. I skimmed my thumb into the path of the salty drop. "How did you do this?" She looked up at me with the most sincere look of love in here eyes.

"I got your dad to help out. Believe it or not I think he's come to terms with me being around for the long hall."

She giggled at me briefly. "I believe it. I'm pretty sure he knows you're the one." I was stoked that Skip was fully accepting of me finally. At this point I figured it was some what inevitable that Alyssa and I would get married at some point. He was stuck with me for life.

"Your turn." Her eyes were lit up like the Time Square Christmas tree.

"Alright, alright calm down." I unwrapped the package; inside was a plain white box. It felt nearly weightless to me but to others it was probably pretty hefty. I lifted the lid and found quite a surprise

Alyssa had gotten me an intricately painted gas tank for my motorcycle. On the either side of the tank there was a rock side cliff overlooking the storming ocean. On the cliff stood a rust colored wolf that I could only assume was me. Upon closer inspection I noticed a short woman who resembled my angel to a T, standing beside the wolf.

Alyssa hadn't taken up motorcycles with me but she knew that I loved it. I was determined to get her on my bike at some point but she was terrified of them so for now it was just me. Even if she didn't participate in my hobby she would always s be apart of it without even saying a word.

"You don't like it." Her crestfallen face just about broke my heart.

"Oh, no, no, no, sweatheart. I love it. I couldn't have asked for anything moe perfect."

I set the gas tank back into its box and pulled Alyssa comfortably into my lap. With my arms in their proper place, around Alyssa, I whispered into her ear. "I love the gift and I love you more then life itself. You're my world Miss West."

A sigh of contentment and Alyssa relaxed into my embrace. Snuggling into my chest and wrapping her arms around my neck. "I love you Jake."

Leaning forward softly brushing my lips against hers, we stayed in a lock, steadily building momentum and pulling ourselves closer to each other. That is until I remembered that we were on a very public beach in the middle of winter. Going to far wasn't an option in that moment.

Forcing myself to pull away I looked down at Alyssa. "We cant do this here."

"I know . . . Sorry." She was sheepishly looking at the sandy ground until I pulled her face to look at me.

"Never say you're sorry. I would kiss you all day every day if I could. . . Here, you have another present to open." I handed her the small box that had been adding anxiety to my day since I woke up. I was nervous that she wouldn't like her necklace. Hopefully she wouldn't think it was too similar to Bella's gift.

Holding the box up to her ear she shook it, listening for a clue. "Just open it . . . then you'll know." I chuckled at her.

She smiled at me and attacked the paper. Opening the box she gasped. "Oh my God, Jake this is . . . This is . . . This is just too much."

"Hey, I believe it was you that said _never too much_." With her already in my lap I reached around her pulling the necklace out of the box on her lap. "Want some help?"

"Yeah" she looked back at me smiling.

I fastened the necklace around her beautiful neck while she held her hair out of the way. When it was securely latched I laid a tender smooch directly above the clasp. As I pulled away Alyssa dropped her hair again and held her right hand over the wolf pendants.

"Thank you Jacob . . . I could never ask for anything quite so perfect. You do know that includes yourself right? I never imagined I would be so lucky as to find my soul mate. I am completely and eternally in love with you."

In the process of her speech she had went from turning her head to look at me to being completely spun around facing me.

"Alyssa West, you stole the words right out of my mouth."

With my gift almost completely forgotten we started where we had left off a few minutes before. We were just about to breach the point of our activities being inappropriate for a public beach when Alyssa pulled her lips away from mine. She set her forehead against mine. "Its about to snow out here. We cant do this now."

"I know, I know, I'm sorry." If I was being perfectly honest with myself I would have loved to _take our relationship to the next level_ as they say but like everything else in my world Alyssa's wants and needs came first. I wouldn't push her into anything.

"Stop apologizing . . . You didn't do anything wrong. I promise."

"I don't want to push you . . ." I said letting the ending trail off.

With an uncommon confidence in my angel's eyes she looked at me. "Do you love me?"

"pfft . . . Does it rain a lot in Washington?" I asked sarcastically. I had told her I loved her a million times or better in the four months I had known her and would happily continue to tell her the same thing until the day I die if she would give me that chance.

"I'm serious Jacob. Do you love me?"

Finally picking up on her un-joking tone I answered her "with every fiber of my being."

Without a second thought she continued with her questioning. "Do you plan to ever leave me?"

"Nothing could drag me away from you."

"And how about hurting me . . . Do you have any plans for that in the works?"

"Not even a little. I'll do anything I can to protect you."

She started to smile again signaling that I most likely answered correctly. "That's all I need to know Jacob. I have no doubt in my mind that we'll be together for eternity. I don't see any reason to wait. I just don't want to get hypothermia in the same night that I give myself to you . . . or risk your dad or a pack member walking in. As corny as it sounds I want it to be special."

"Of course, anything for you." Her requests made perfect sense to me. If special is what she wanted we would wait until everything was perfect. I would wait forever if that's what it took.

Finding focus on why we went to the beach in the first place Alyssa handed me the last wrapped package. "Here, open your present. Its getting late."

I opened the last box to find that she had gotten me a variety of new clothes and two new pairs of shoes. I had been running low for the past month, so it was stuff that I really needed. I thanked her but she just laughed at me.

"Who do you think I am your grandmother? Check the pocket." A smile lit up her face. I reached into the back pocket of the jeans she was pointing to. When I pulled out a few thin pieces of paper I had no idea what they were.

Holding them up to read what was written on them I saw that she had given me clothes and three tickets to see one of my favorite bands in Seattle. "You've got to be kidding me. You really shouldn't have." _Okay think about this Jake. These tickets must have cost her a fortune. Your poor butt cannot let her give these to you._ My conscious was loud and clear this with the clothes and gas tank were way too much.

"Honey, you had to have spent a ton of money on this. I cant let you do this."

:"Oh no you don't, I didn't spend too much. I know it's a weekday, I already talked to your dad. The extra ticket is for Quil. Oh and I wouldn't worry about Sam saying its okay. He'll approve."

My head was screaming at me that something was up. _She's never this sure of herself Jake, something's up_!"What did you do?"

With a clearly smug smile "I didn't do anything… well sorta. Emily got Sam and Brady tickets. Kim got Jared and Embry tickets. Carmen got Paul and Collin tickets and Leah got tickets for herself and Seth. Everyone is going. See it'll be fun."

"You girls orchestrated this entire thing?"

"mhmmm, you guys work far to hard. A nice night out is just what you need." I couldn't fight with her logic when she wore such a sweet smile.

"I love it. No complaints here." I kissed the tip of her nose. "Thank you baby."

It was going on two in the morning by the time we made our way back up to the house. Billy was out cold in the living room when we got there. Alyssa went straight back to my room to change for bed. I nudged my dad's shoulder to wake him up.

"What time is it?" He asked with a groggy voice.

"Two, you should head down to bed."

"Yeah good idea." With that dad rolled down the hall toward his room. He would be out again by the time I climbed into my bed.

I knocked on to the door before walking in. I didn't want to walk in on her while she was changing. Lets face it; I was a seventeen year old kid and Alyssa s my imprint. I only had so much control. I didn't hear anything from inside so I slowly opened the door. Alyssa was already fast asleep. The blankets were kicked to the end of the bed. She generally didn't need blankets when I was around.

As I laid down I started to think about how the day had gone. Alyssa loved her presents. I got to spend time with family as I know it and last but certainly not least I was with Alyssa. It was by far the best Christmas since my mom had died, if not ever. Right before I slipped into a deep sleep I came to the realization that there was only one week left until Alyssa's break was over. I was going to do my best to make it amazing.

- - -

_Sorry this took some time to write. My finals are over though so there is a big load off my shoulders. _

_I actually have the next chapter written already so I'm going to be the obnoxious girl who says no update until… __**5 reviews**__… It's sad but that's a ton for me. _


	23. What Friends Are For

_I don't own twilight or any of the characters connected but I do have a serious love for it and them._

_I know I said I wouldn't post this until I got five reviews but it looks like that isn't going to happen. In the Christmas spirit here is another chapter… It goes out to Ally and DeviLISH-innocence. _

- - -

The last week of December was fantastic. Other than patrolling I spent almost every minute with Alyssa. It seemed strange at first but by the end of the week it was routine for Leah to hang out with my angel while I was on patrol. Every fun aspect of La Push was packed into that last week.

Who would have guessed that Leah and Alyssa would have become friends so fast? Not me. In that last week they had gone shopping in Port Angeles twice; they also had a sleepover. I'm not kidding. Sam had me patrol Monday night, leaving Alyssa either by herself or she could go to the Clearwater's house. She chose Leah.

When I finished my patrols it was late but I dropped by the Clearwater house. I knocked on the window to Leah's room. The light was on so I knew I wasn't going to be waking anyone up. The curtains were pulled back to expose Leah, sporting an annoyingly amused smirk.

"Nope, you're just going the have to wait until morning Romeo."

"What?" I didn't think she could be serious. Keeping a guy away from his imprint was like torture. Of course she was serious. It was after all Leah.

"This is girls' night. I'm not having it ruined by an overprotective boyfriend."

"Hey, I'm not overprotective. . . I just miss her." Okay so I know the over protective part was true but I wasn't going to admit that to her. It would bring her far too much joy.

"Humph, she's fine. We'll see you in the morning." She was about to walk away when stopped and looked down at me. "I'll keep her safe Jake, I promise." With that she closed the window snapped the curtain shut and walked away. I didn't see her giving in and letting me see Alyssa any time soon so I resigned. I had no other choice than to go home and fight for a few hours of sleep.

The next morning I was awake surprisingly early. Sleeping didn't seem like an acceptable option when my angel could be home at any moment. I actually got out of bed, showered, dressed, and made breakfast by eight-thirty. That wasn't bad considering I hadn't gone to bed until about a quarter to four.

The girls strolled through the door at nine. The looks on their faces when they saw the mounds of bacon and piles of pancakes was far more than hilarious. Alyssa looked like her eyes were literally going to pop out of her head.

"You cooked!" Alyssa said though it sounded more like an accusation than a statement.

"I was trying to occupy my time. I was getting jumpy." I admitted while strategically looking away from the girls.

"Don't let him sugar coat it darlin'. He was going plain crazy wondering where you were." My dad chuckled as he was light heartedly throwing me under the bus.

"Thanks dad." I mumbled in his general direction.

I wasn't quite done with all the pancakes and while I was standing in front of the stove finishing the batter Alyssa came up from behind me and wrapped her arms around my waste. It was such a role reversal it was almost comical.

"Why didn't you call or text me if you were that worried? That's why we have phones." She asked in a whispered tone even though I knew Leah could hear her.

"I didn't want to interrupt girls' night. Plus I knew you were in good hands." I looked over my shoulder just in time to see Leah looking away from the conversation she was having with Billy to smile at me proudly.

Breakfast went pretty smoothly. We kept it casual, both Leah and Alyssa refused to discuss their girls night. They did however mention something about boy gossip, a John Hughes marathon and facials. After hearing that, I pretty much lost interest.

"Alrighty Ms. Baker, I have patrol. I'll talk to you later." Alyssa just laughed at an inside joke that I doubt I'll ever understand, while giving Leah a hug goodbye.

It was beyond odd to see Leah acting like the typical care free young woman. She was smiling and the combined laughter of her and Alyssa filled the air. It was nice to see Leah relatively happy.

- - -

January third eventually reared its ugly head. Angela was picking up Alyssa on her way back to school. I had been dreading it. A month spent with the love of your life tends to spoil a person. I didn't want her to leave.

Angela called to say she would be at my house in fifteen minutes. I was hanging of for dear life. "Don't go." I whined like a petulant five year old.

"You know I can't stay even though I would love to." She replied ending her explanation with a condescending kiss to the tip of my nose.

"Sure, sure:" I agreed, though I was making no show of being happy about this departure.

"Stop pouting. You're coming up on Friday. That is only three days away. You're a big strong wolf man. I think you can survive." Had she not been paying attention for the last four months? She was my weakness. Big strong wolf or not it hurt when she left.

A car horn could be heard from the front yard. I never thought that the presence of sweet little Angela Weber would ever annoy me so thoroughly. It was time for Alyssa to take off for Seattle. I missed her already. One more disgusting, straight from a romance movie, moment at the car and she was gone. It hurt like hell to stand there and watch Angela drive away, taking my life with her.

I was pretty much useless for the remainder of the morning. Leah dropped by the house around one that afternoon.

"You know you're more dramatic than a daily soap opera."

Not bothering to look away from the dining room table top I had been glaring at for at least the last hour or so. "You're one to talk."

"I know, I know, Leah the drama queen. You're a riot." She sat down in the chair across from me. "Now get up. Alyssa called me to make sure you weren't going to be pathetic for the rest of the day."

"She did not. . ." I was hoping that she didn't realize what a horrible heap of loser I was when she wasn't around.

"And I quote_ "Leah, will you go over to Jake's house and make sure he isn't just sitting around pouting? I don't want him to be depressed over a three day separation."_ I'm here on orders from your girlfriend there buddy."

She finally managed to have gotten my attention. I really didn't want Alyssa to worry about me. I looked up into Leah's amused eyes. "Aww crap. I really hate it that she's right." She just shook her head at me.

Standing up where she was Leah filled a glass with water and slid it across the table in my direction. "Drink this. You look sick."

"You know Leah; you should be a motivational speaker. You're terrific at cheering people up." I gulped down the water in one fell swoop. Determined to no longer be a pathetic waste of space I stood up. Walking toward my room I left Leah in the kitchen. "I'm going to get dressed. Then I think I'll head over to Sam's for awhile.

I heard her response from the kitchen. "Good, I have some shopping to do. You better not be moping around this place when I get back." The front door snapped shut and it was quiet again.

It was a quiet day at Sam and Emily's house. Paul and Carmen were nestled together in the living room with a book of all things in their laps. Sam was sitting next to a glowing Emily. They were looking through wedding magazines and a Babies-R-Us catalog. It was a normal sight around there ever since Christmas, when the baby news was delivered and wedding plans were kicked into full gear.

Neither Emily nor Sam could get any happier. Planning the wedding had become the number one priority for both of them.

The wedding party was all set up. Emily had asked Leah to be her maid of honor. She had also asked Alyssa, Kim, and Carmen to stand with her. Until Alyssa talked to Leah we weren't too sure if she would participate but it ended up being a pretty easy sell. Sam asked me to be his best man. A perk of being the beta, I guess. Jared, Paul, and Quil were also going to be dawning tuxes on the wedding day. Little Claire was going to be the flower girl which made Quil pretty stoked. After much debate, and joke from the pack, they had chose Sam's cousin to be the ring boy instead of Seth. I for one was a little disappointed.

:"Hey guys, having an enjoyable afternoon of china patterns, high chairs, and flower arrangements?" I asked while sliding across the counter and stealing a cookie.

"Don't be so smug over there Jacob. You know you and Alyssa will be here sooner or later." Emily said without pulling her eyes away from Sam.

"Yeah, I'm one of the lucky ones I guess."]

"You definitely are my friend, we're lucky men." Sam stated with an amount of love in his eyes that only made me miss Alyssa more.

It didn't look like sitting around the Uley/Young house was going to get my mind off of things too terribly well. So, I decided to leave.

"I think I'm going to head out to find some of the guys. I'll see you two later." I hopped off the counter on my way out the door. Before it was fully closed behind me I heard Emily calling from behind me.

"Dinner for everyone is here at seven thirty. Pass it on."

Without much thought I ended up on Embry's doorstep. It seemed like a natural pattern for me to end up at my old friend's house. A few knocks on the door and Embry's mom answered. "Hey is Embry home?"

"Oh hey Jake, yeah he's in his room. Come on in. How have you been?"

I had always liked Embry's mom. She had always been one of those fun moms whose house was the place to be. It probably helped that she was pretty young when she had Embry.

The identity of Embry Call's father was still a mystery to all of us. Embry didn't have the courage to ask his mom, neither Sam nor Seth could ask their fathers and I was definitely too chicken to confront Billy on the topic. As far as I could tell it was bound to stay an unsolved mystery.

"I've been good, busy but good."

"There's nothing wrong with staying busy. It's good for a guy your age. Keeps you out of trouble, right?" Her hopeless attempt at subtlety wasn't lost on me. Ever since Embry started to phase he'd been sneaking out and lying to keep the secrecy of the pack in tact. I felt both relieved, that I didn't have to hide the truth from Billy, and sorry for the majority of the pack who had to hide their true selves when they were at home.

"Of course not. You know me. I'm an angel to the core." I let her have the cheesiest smile I could muster and produced a fake halo with my hands.

"Oh . . . Fine . . . Jacob . . . Lie . . . To an . . . Old . . . Woman." She managed to say through her laughter.

A few seconds later Embry was hurtling down the stairs two at a time. As he landed on the first floor lithely his boisterous laughter filled the air. "Jakey Poo. . . what are you doing here?"

"Ha, Ha, Ha I'm just keeping busy. I was wondering if you wanted to help me mount my new gas tank then go for a spin."

"Hmmmm, mechanics, motorcycles, and keeping busy, let me guess Alyssa went home today."

"No . . . She went back to school. This is home." My indignant answer earned me a pitied shake of the head.

"Alright Jake, let's go get you thinking about something other than your im . . . girlfriend." His mom was still in the room so use of the "_I word"_ was strictly forbidden.

"Fine, by me . . . but I don't think you'll have much luck with that."

"I'm Embry the Great. We'll just have to see about that." Turning to his mom, "I'll see you tonight, okay?" With a sad smile she nodded in defeat as if she knew she wouldn't really be seeing Embry that night.

My house was only a short walk up the road from Embry's. To be fair though everything in La Push was only a short walk up the road. We strolled through the front door. I had to pull the gas tank out of my room so we could mount it. Billy was sitting in the living room watching the Seahawks game when we got there.

"Hey kids, what are you two up to today?"

"Not much, just keeping a love sick puppy distracted for the day. Embry laughed as I shook my head and walked away.

"Good, anything is better than the endless moping." Seeing me walk back into the room he smirked at me mischievously "even if that means hanging around you Embry."

Embry jerked his head up to look at my dad. "What?" It was somewhat of a mean joke but funny none-the-less. We had been friends for the vast majority of our lives but for some odd reason Embry always feared that my, as well as Quil's, parents didn't like him. The fear was completely unwarranted.

Walking up to my friend I pulled on his shoulder. "Don't worry about it man it was a joke."

"Oh . . . Okay. Well are you ready to get to work?"

"Yeah, let's go. See you later dad."

My little garage hadn't been used much since I'd gotten home from Canada. It was odd being in there and not seeing my bug sitting in its usual spot. There was the clear advantage of having a clean workspace though. It left room for us to spread out and work on both bikes at the same time. In no time we had my tank mounted, and both bikes had full tune ups.

With two perfectly usable bikes who could resist a good ride. We were speeding down one of La Push's many back roads when we passed Leah's car. She just smiled and waved to us. As she passed I saw her pulling her cell phone up to her ear. My only guess was that she was calling Alyssa to tell her I wasn't sulking. I was alright with that.

- - -

_Reviews = amazing-ness … please people bring me some holiday joy. _

_Extra points go to anyone who understands the Ms. Baker reference._

_ALLY: If you would like the two extra chapters I would be glad to send them to you. Just send me a message and let me know how to get those to you. :)_


	24. Concerts and Chaos

_I'm still not Stephenie Meyers but I do love her books :P_

- - -

The middle of February eventually rolled around and it was time for our concert in Seattle. The trip had become quite a production. The girls had worked hard to make sure there was a plan for everything. We were riding up there in three cars. Then the majority of us were going to be staying at Alyssa's place.

While most of us were staying in Alyssa's studio for the night of the concert there were some who were making the long trip back to La Push after the show. It was going to be a late night for them. Sam and Emily were heading home; Emily preferred to have morning sickness in her own home. I didn't really blame her for that one. Collin and Brady were going back with them. Their parents weren't exactly keen on the idea of them being in Seattle that late. The only reason they were getting to come at all was because Sam had promised to keep an eye on them. Originally Seth was going to ride back to but Sue was persuaded to let him stay.

I was guessing it would get a little cramped in the small studio apartment with the pack there but what did I care? I had dibs on the bed.

School on the reservation got out at 2:15. We were leaving straight from there. The final bell rang and everyone, excluding Sam. Emily, Leah, Carmen, Brady, and Collin met by my locker. That was pretty normal for most part. Everyone else was meeting us in the parking lot.

"Everyone has all of there stuff right?" Kim asked as Jared pulled a duffle bag off of her shoulder and threw it over his own. Kim was taking charge of the situation for once. It was sort of nice to see her finally breaking out of her shell around the pack. We had all been seeing the outgoing Kim from Jared's thoughts, seeing it in person was fun. The smile on Jared's face made it clear he was just as happy about it as me.

"Yep, we took our stuff over to Sam and Emily's this morning." She nodded affirmatively at my answer.

"Good, we should get going now. I bet Collin and Brady are already at the cars. " The two youngest pack members were still in junior high so their classes were housed in a different building than the rest of us.

When we got to the parking lot everyone was there waiting for us. We were taking Sam and Emily's Tahoe, Kim's Pontiac Aztek, and Leah's Blazer. Carmen was standing at the back of Leah's car when we left the building. She was obvious eager to see Paul.

They were a pairing that nobody fully understood. She was fun loving, gentle hearted, and tended to keep her thoughts to herself. She was Paul's opposite but they found a way to love each other despite it all. It was an amazing connection to witness.

We were barely out the door when Paul broke away from our group straight toward Carmen at the speed of a quick human run. She jumped into his arms with a squeal of delight. Seeing the responses coming from our classmates was priceless. A few audible gasps could be heard from around the lot. Reactions ranged from undeniable envy to blatant confusion. Paul wasn't exactly known in school for being the lovey dovey type. One group of girls could be heard through werewolf sense.

"Is that Paul . . . with a girl?"

"Yeah, I heard he met her when he was in court for fighting. She's a runaway and moved here after that to be with him." The girls' catty gossip was stupid to me but it's a good thing Paul hadn't heard them say anything bad about Carmen. That's the one thing that would guarantee a glimpse at the angry Paul we used to know.

After their over dramatic greeting was through and everyone stopped making fun of Carmen and Paul we loaded into the SUVs and were on our way.

The four hour drive consisted of Seth yammering in my ear about how excited he was. It was particularly agonizing knowing if I were to just run it would have only taken me an hour and a half to get there. By the time we were in the parking lot of Alyssa's building I was practically throwing myself out of the car. I wasn't concerned about anything but getting to Alyssa. Embry had been there before so he could show the others were to go.

Having given up knocking months ago I ran through the door in search of Alyssa. It had been far too long since I had seen her. We had missed the last Friday because I had to run patrol for Quil. It was Claire's birthday so he was staying with her family for the night. Ignoring the presence of Angela and Kelly I swung Alyssa into my arms peppering her face with sweet kisses.

The first thing I registered in my mind, other than Alyssa, was Sam's booming voice. "Don't worry about it Jake. We've got the bags." He was chuckling so I know he thought it was funnier than anything else.

Alyssa hopped easily out og my arms and greeted the rest of the pack with hugs. It made me happy how well she got along with everyone.

Angela and Kelly simply stood there with wide eyes as they took in the size of our friends. Kelly seemed slightly more astonished. I was guessing Angela had seen us around before. I would have laughed if they didn't look a little frightened. I was pretty sure nobody else even noticed their presence so I thought I would make it clear before anyone said something _wolf related_

"Hey guys these are Alyssa's neighbors, Angela and Kelly. Ladies these are my friends Sam and Emily, Leah, you've met Embry, Quil, Jared and Kim, Paul and Carmen, Collin, and Brady. Our friend Seth is around here somewhere."

Sam spoke up then. "Oh, he's down stairs starting the phone chain that we made it here alive. He chuckled. "Its nice to meet you ladies." Everyone besides the two outsiders knew he was calling his mom. It was a stipulation of her letting _her baby boy_ leave for a weekend. This way he sounded less like the fourteen year old kid that he was.

"We had better get going. The movie will be starting soon. It was nice meeting all of you." Angela said as she pulled Kelly by the arm. They waded through the people toward the door.

Once they left we piled all of our bags on the wall by the door and the girls got excited about getting ready for the show. I didn't really understand why you had to dress up to stand around and listen to music but it was vitally important to the girls. While the girls we in the bathroom doing girly things Seth showed up shaking his head.

"What's up with you Seth?" I asked.

"My mom, I can run to Canada and back in a day, fight vampires, befriend vampires, and run patrol but God forbid I go to a concert. She's just a little crazy sometimes." He was shaking his head at Sue's logic.

I had to admit that after the big fight when I got injured I looked at Seth in a different light. Now Collin and Brady were as much apart of the pack as anyone else but they've always been the young wolves. Seth used to be apart of that younger group. On the day of the fight something changed. Seth gained a monumental amount of respect from the pack; he just wished his mom would see him in a more mature light like the rest of us.

It took a few hours for everyone to be ready for the concert the girls had figured out what they were going to wear and to the surprise of no one they knew what us guys were going to be wearing as well. _Yeah we were whipped and we knew it. _They handed us our clothes. We put on the clothes. The girls were happy. We were happy. It was a good system for us.

We pulled into the parking lot and were directed where to park by two guys in reflective orange vests. When everyone was out of the car we congregated in the line that was forming outside of the venue. With it being February we made a circle around the non-werewolf members of the group to block the wind while we waited out the thirty minutes until they would let us in.

It had been pretty rare up until that point to see the entire pack together outside of La Push. Even though we weren't necessarily surprised when people gave us odd looks none of us appreciated the reactions we got while waiting for the concert.

Standing in a huddle outside of the venue we towered over the vast majority of awaiting fans; it was attracting the attention of some female fans. It was definitely unwanted for the most part. None of the imprint girls were the jealous type so that wasn't an issue. Once you were a wolf girl, you're always a wolf girl.

Even if the girls had nothing to worry about it was still pretty awkward for us when girls would shamelessly try to pick us up. Staring we were used to, but blatant pick up lines from random girls was a bit much. That was especially true when we were out with our imprints it was insulting for anyone to think I was stupid enough to give up Alyssa for them.

They eventually opened the doors and started to let people in. Once past the security guards, who to everyone's delight felt the need to "check those big guys twice.", we were inside. It took a few minutes for everyone to find their seats but when we got there we took up quite a nice chunk of our section.

The minute we found our spots, Emily's pregnancy kicked into full gear. You would have thought the world would come to a complete end if she didn't get some Cheetos pronto. Of course Sam being his devoted self jumped up ready to get her everything she needed. Jared, who was getting Kim a soda, went with him to wait in the enormous concession line.

If I were a typical friend this would be about the time I add a quip about being whipped but I would have been there too if Alyssa had asked for something so it's best that I _lay off_.

Overall the concert was fantastic. The crowd was enthusiastic and the band did not one but two encores. My friends and the love of my life were there to share it with me. I couldn't ask for anything better. That's how it would seem at least. Alyssa had been a little distant since we left her apartment. She continually said that she was fine but something was off.

When all was said and done we didn't get back to Alyssa's apartment until quarter to three. While most of us were staying Sam and Emily were heading back to La Push. Collin and Brady went with them. A trip to Seattle was a big deal. Everyone said their goodbyes; Alyssa's being more substantial than the other pack members that would be seeing the four of them the next day. Then they were gone.

It was odd to have the pack with me in Seattle. The studio apartment had turned into my home away from home. On my weekends it was easy for Alyssa and I to slip into a comfortable routine. Sam had even joked that I loved to _"play house"_ on the weekends. It was an annoying reference but true enough that I couldn't argue.

Leah and Kim were waiting for everyone to get changed and ready for bed so they could have turns to shower. Some guy at the concert had accidentally spilled a beer on them. Jared was far less than happy about it but everything worked out in the end without coming to blows.

The girls had been part of the group in the top row of our little section. When a particularly popular song began the guy behind them was overly excited, as well as half in the bag from everything he had already consumed that night. When he started jumping around to the beat his beer ended up all over Kim and Leah's heads. Let's just say it was a good thing Sam was there to keep the situation in control.

Once they were out of the shower and everyone was ready to sleep we started to find places for everyone. We barely fit seven freakishly large werewolves and three grown women comfortably into the studio. Alyssa and I had the bed and the rest of the group had to find places on the floor, which caused some grumbling but nothing too dramatic.

"Goodnight everyone" Alyssa called out as Embry reached up to flip the light switch off.

"G'Night" Seth mumbled from his spot by the door.

"Night" Leah responded

"Sweet dreams." Kim said with a groggy voice as she cuddled up next to Jared by the kitchen.

Finally an addition from Quil in a girly voice could be heard from his spot near Seth. "Nighty-Night." The room erupted with people laughing out our outspoken goofball of a friend.

Everyone was still laughing when the lights went out and the room became pitch black, to the non-werewolves at least. Most of the group seemed to keyed up from that nights festivities to actually get any sleep so we all laid there in the dark room talking and telling as many jokes as we could think of,

We hadn't realized how loud our conversation had gotten until there was a knock on the door. Maybe it was just me but four-thirty AM didn't seem like a normal time for a social call. We had to be in trouble.

Alyssa bolted upright in bed and switched on the lamp sitting on the side table. She stared jumping over our friends to get to the door. Seth had to roll out of the way in order for her to open the door.

"Hello?" She asked shyly once the door was open.

"Do you realize what time it is?" A man's voice could be heard from the other side of the door. He sounded far to agitated for my liking. Jared was glancing at me to make sure I was alright where I was sitting. Apparently he didn't like the guys tone either

"Yes, we know its late. I'm so sorry. We'll try to keep it down. I'm just having some friends stay over and . . ." The obnoxious jerk cut her off at about that point.

"I have a chem. Test in the morning so how about you and your pathetic excuse for _friends_ shut up completely." I'm sure I wasn't supposed to hear it but as he was turning to walk away he mumbled "stupid bitch".

"I-I-I'm . . ." Before she had a chance to finish her stammering sentence I was out of bed and forcing my way past Alyssa through the door.

"Would you like to discuss this with me instead of my girlfriend?" I growled. I was backing him into the wall when Jared got a firm hold of my arms while Quil got between me and the dill weed. They shoved me back into the room leaving Embry to diplomatically deal with the situation outside.

Who did that guy think he was talking to an angel like that? I was still trembling when Jared shoved me onto the bed.

"Settle down Jake, you can't phase here."

I would be willing to bet that was one of those moments when the guys wished I wasn't the Beta. That way they could order me to do something. As it was they could only try to talk me out of doing something really stupid. He had a hand on my shoulder in an attempt to comfort me.

"Baby, you, Alyssa, and Carmen need to either go into the bathroom or the kitchen," He called over his shoulder to Kim in a calming voice.

As they shuffled into the kitchen area I could see Alyssa crying into Carmen's shoulder. _Please don't let that be because of me. Please don't say I made her cry._ My internal pleading did nothing to stop my shaking.

"Jake, I know you're pissed but my girl is here and you are scaring her. That and Alyssa is still crying. Calm your ass down so we can let you help her." In his very Paul way he was trying to help me out. "Take a deep breath man,"

I listened to his advice and took a few cleansing breaths. That along with the knowledge that the sooner I calmed myself the sooner I would be able to comfort Alyssa allowed me to stop the quivers running up my spine. When I stilled Jared lifted his hand from my shoulder. "Are you alright now?"

"Yes . . ." I paused to make sure I was being honest. There was no need to put three imprints in danger for my pride. "Yeah, I'm alright now." I stood up from my seat on the bed. I noticed that Paul and Jared were watching me like a hawk as I walked in the direction of Alyssa. I was getting near their imprints too. I didn't mind their concern.

I got to Alyssa, gently placing a hand on each of her shoulders. Feeling me behind her she spun around and began to sob into my chest.

I ran my hand through her hair with one hand while I rubbed her back with the other one. By the time she was calmed down enough to stop crying I had noticed that the group had stepped outside to give us some privacy.

"Are you alright sweetheart?"

"Yeah." She murmured in a sniffling voice.

"You do realize that you're a horrible liar right?"

"Yeah." She still hadn't looked up from my chest at this point.

I knew the question that I had to ask but I was still scared. "Are you crying because of me or what that guy said?"

"His name is Eli." She was trying to change the subject.

"Alyssa . . ." I pulled her face up so she was looking at me.

"He's been messing with Angela and I for awhile now."

I took a deep breath to calm myself before I spoke. "Messing with you?" My voice was obviously strained.

Alyssa stepped back so she could see me. She reached up to put her hands on either side of my face. "I'm fine, I swear. He just talks crap because Angela turned him down for a date and I stood up for her. It's not too bad."

"Not too bad? You cant just live with some guy being a jerk. You don't deserve that."

She left my arms, walking toward the door to let everyone in again. As she walked she continued to speak, this time in a much more hushed volume.

"As long as I don't get hit again I'll be great."

As soon as the words left her mouth she knew she had said too much. No amount of deep breaths would have calmed me. In a split second my body was ripping apart and I was an animal. The first thing I heard as a wolf was the bone chilling scream of my love.

- - -

_Like always I LOVE reviews. They are always appreciated. _

_Okay so the review that was sent with your email for the extra chapters didn't work so how about this… If you aren't a member but still want the extra chapters mentioned (there are only two at the moment) go ahead and email me and I'll send them off to you. jacij1988 _


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